Phone battery catches fire on board United Airlines flight; makes emergency landing

Thursday, February 27, 2020

A United Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing after a “thermal runaway event”.

Flight 1456 from Newark, New Jersey, to Nassau, Bahamas, diverted to Daytona Beach Airport Wednesday after a phone battery charger caught fire mid-flight, the airport confirmed on Twitter.

The fire was contained to a passenger’s bag and placed inside a fire retardant case after bursting into flames, Daytona Beach Airport added. There were no injuries to the flight’s 130 passengers and five crew members, and no damage to the plane.

The Florida airport shared a picture of the charred devices.

United Airlines referred to the incident as a “thermal runaway event on board”.

“Emergency personnel met the aircraft and customers remained onboard prior to the aircraft re-departing for Nassau,” United spokesperson Leslie Scott said in a statement.

“We appreciate the quick work of our employees on board to keep our customers and fellow employees safe.”

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