Air China flight diverts to Shanghai after lithium battery catches fire
A lithium battery that burst into flames on board a plane forced it to make an emergency landing.
The latest on-board fire happened on an Air China flight, where flames were seen leaping from an overhead compartment.
Source: Douyin
Passengers panic after fire erupts in overhead compartment
In videos shared across social media sites including Douyin, passengers are heard reacting in panic to the fire.
One showed a man apparently attempting to retrieve a cabin luggage that was alight, but being discouraged from doing so.
Source: Douyin
Another showed passengers looking to cabin crew for help, with one heard saying that something had “exploded” and another calling for a fire extinguisher.
Source: Douyin
Another voice shouted “Hurry, hurry” in Korean as cabin crew rushed over to attend to the fire.
Source: Douyin
They could be seen trying to put out the fire as smoke filled the cabin.
Source: Douyin
Air China flight turns back after lithium battery ‘spontaneously combusted’
In a statement posted on Weibo, Air China said the incident occurred on flight CA139 from Hangzhou to Seoul on Saturday (18 Oct).
A lithium battery “spontaneously combusted” in a passenger’s carry-on luggage stored in the overhead compartment.
Source: Air China on Weibo
The crew handled the situation according to procedure, with no one injured, it added.
In the interest of safety, the plane made an emergency landing at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport, with a new aircraft deployed to continue the flight.
According to flight tracking website Flightradar24, the plane was somewhere above the East China Sea when it turned back to Shanghai.
Source: @flightradar24 on X
Previous on-board fires involved power banks
While the airline did not mention whether the lithium battery that caught fire was part of a power bank, there have been previous reports of on-board fires that were suspected to be due to power banks.
In March this year, a Hong Kong Airlines plane was forced make an emergency landing in Fuzhou after a fire broke out in an overhead compartment. Passengers suspected that a power bank had caught fire after social media videos showed the burnt contents of the overhead compartment.
In January, an Air Busan plane caught fire at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, completely engulfing and destroying the plane as well as injuring some passengers.
South Korea’s Transport Ministry later said that preliminary investigations indicate that the blaze could have due to faulty insulation inside a power bank that was in an overhead compartment, reported the BBC.
Singapore Airlines and Scoot banned the use of power banks on board from 1 April, with passengers required to pack them in cabin baggage, not checked luggage.
Also read: Power Bank Catches Fire On Scoot Flight From Taiwan To S’pore, 2 Passengers Injured
Power Bank Catches Fire On Scoot Flight From Taiwan To S’pore, 2 Passengers Injured
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at [email protected].
Featured image adapted from Douyin.
Lithium battery catches fire in overhead compartment on Air China flight, plane makes emergency landing
