The moral of the story is to check you have your mobile phone before adjusting your seat on a plane.
A customers mobile phone was crushed in the seat mechanism of a Qantas plan on route from Los Angeles to Melbourne this week. The crew contained the mobile phone when it began smoking to avoid a fire.
A similar incident happened in 2016 on a Qantas flight where a mobile phone was crushed in a seat mechanism and caught fire.
These incidents highlight the ongoing dangers from lithium batteries.
The Australia Transport Safety Bureau makes the following recommendations:
- Phones should be kept in an approved stowage, unless in use
- Passengers should locate their phone before moving powered seats
- In the event that a passenger cannot locate their phone, they should refrain from moving their seat and immediately contact a cabin crew member
- Passengers should always follow the directions of cabin crew.
Image Source: ATSB (from 2016 incident)
