Flight Evacuated After Samsung Galaxy A21 Burst Into Flames
Nathan Jolly
25 Aug 2021
An Alaska Airlines flight that had just landed in Seattle from New Orleans was quickly evacuated after a passenger’s phone exploded into flames.
“After much digging, I can tell you that the phone was burned beyond recognition,” Perry Cooper, a spokesperson for the Port of Seattle, told The Seattle Times.
“However, during an interview with one of our Port of Seattle Police officers, the passenger volunteered the phone was a Samsung Galaxy A21. Again, we could not confirm it by looking at the remains of the device.”
Just talked with a passenger on Alaska Airlines flight 751, where a fire broke out in the plane after landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. A passenger’s cell phone caught on fire, an Alaska Airlines official tells @KIRO7Seattle . We’re live at SeaTac at 11. pic.twitter.com/qeNHq4g17Z
— Kevin Ko (@NewsWithKevin) August 24, 2021
An Alaska Airlines spokesperson said fire extinguishers and a battery containment bag were used by flight crew to “stop the phone from smoking.”
Two passengers were treated at a local hospital.
This incident echoes Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 recall, amidst fears that the battery might explode during flights. It is unclear whether this is a design flaw with the A21.
