An American Airlines Airbus A321 was preparing to disembark passengers at San Francisco, after a routine flight from Miami on July 15, 2024. Then smoke suddenly filled the cabin. Some passengers may have suspected a closet vaper. But in reality, they were facing a laptop battery fire, with the aircraft fortunately stationary and on the ground.
A Laptop Battery Was Burning at the Rear of the Aircraft
Some passengers panicked and apparently started a stampede for the exit door. Although the ITC Community website confirms that the crew soon had the situation under control, and only three passengers suffered minor injuries.
It turned out that a laptop bag at the rear of the aircraft cabin was smoldering and emitting smoke. The aircraft had already connected to the jet bridge, although some passengers preferred a faster route down the inflatable gangway.
American Airline rules comply with IATA standards, and we believe they apply these strictly. They only allow laptops as carry-on baggage. Their battery capacities may not be greater than 100 watt-hours without special prior approval.
We don’t know which model caused the laptop battery fire, or whether the battery was more powerful than the general norm. But experience suggests that there are weak points in every rule.
A Quick Crew Response Teamed With Good Training
The American Airlines crew response was quick and effective, and they were obviously well prepared according to USA Today. ITC Community confirms that when fire officials arrived, they immersed the battery in water.
The offending laptop battery was, by all accounts, a lithium-ion one. Electric Power Research Institute (see link below) confirms that substantial amounts of water are often effective in extinguishing small lithium-ion battery fires.
The Institute recommends flows of water greater than 0.3 gallons per minute, per cubic foot. On that basis, submerging the laptop in water was a wise strategy. We hope the laptop owner had backed their files up.
More Information
Lithium Battery Transport Compliance Overdue
Passenger Aircraft Battery Fire Precautions
