A United Airlines flight bound for Newark Airport in New Jersey was forced to return to San Diego Airport after a fire broke out in the cabin caused by a passenger’s burning laptop battery hit
Four flight attendants working in the cabin of the Boeing 737 aboard United 2664 were able to stop the fire from spreading by extinguishing the flames with on-board fire extinguishers.
Their heroic efforts resulted in smoke inhalation as they extinguished the fire. The four were taken to hospital for treatment after the emergency landing on Tuesday.
It is not clear what caused the battery to ignite shortly after the flight took off at 07:15 with 159 passengers. Barely 11 minutes later, the plane was back on the ground.
A United Airlines flight to Newark had to return to San Diego due to a cabin fire caused by an external battery. Fire trucks could be seen on the side of the plane
The fire was brought under control by the flight crew, but the four flight attendants were taken to hospital after suffering smoke inhalation. The photo shows ambulances at the site on Tuesday morning
After a fire on board a San Diego plane, emergency services were quickly on the scene
The situation would have been all the more dangerous if the battery pack had been in checked baggage and not in the main cabin.
“The aircraft issued a warning 2 shortly after take-off indicating a serious problem with the aircraft, in this case there was a fire in an electrical device in the cabin.
“The aircraft landed safely at San Diego International Airport, where emergency responders assisted the aircraft and passengers,” the San Diego airport said in a statement.
A passenger on board the plane, Caroline Lipinski, watched from her seat.
“There was a gentleman whose bag was smoking and he threw something on the ground. It was a battery charger or a package from his laptop and it caught fire.”
“There was a gentleman whose bag was smoking and he threw something on the ground. It was a charger or a package from his laptop and it caught fire,” says Caroline Lipinski
“Some gasped and screamed. The man next to me ran to the back of the plane. The flight attendants grabbed fire extinguishers and ran to the front,” said Stephan Jones
“I heard someone shouting ‘fire’. I was lucky and could see the glow,” said another traveler
The plane was back on the ground 11 minutes after takeoff from San Diego when a fire broke out
“I heard someone shouting ‘fire’. I was lucky and could see the glow,” said another traveler.
Fellow passenger Stephan Jones said people immediately panicked.
“Some gasped and screamed. The man next to me ran to the back of the plane. The flight attendants grabbed fire extinguishers and ran forward,” he told CBS News.
Since 2006, there have been 414 cases of lithium batteries catching fire or overheating – 49 of them in laptops.
The scare is just the latest in a series of dire scares to hit planes in recent weeks.
The wing tip of the Orlando-bound plane was torn off by the impact at Newark Liberty International Airport
Two United Airlines planes clipped their wings on the tarmac at Newark Airport on Friday when one plane was pushed back.
The Boeing 757 was hit by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner en route to Orlando, Florida.
The pilot announced to the passengers, “Of course our wing is clipped.”
The Federal Aviation Authority is investigating the incident.
It came a day before a near-catastrophic incident Saturday in Austin, when a FedEx cargo plane came within 100 feet of colliding with a Southwest Airlines passenger plane.
Last month, another horrific near-miss at JFK raised concerns about an “alarming” increase in such incidents at US airports.
During the wing clipping incident in Newark, United 2135 to Orlando was parked at the gate when the larger plane that had recently arrived from Johannesburg, South Africa hit the wing.
Firefighters who responded to the incident carried away the broken wingtip
A Boeing 757 bound for Orlando, Fla. was hit by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Newark Liberty International Airport on Friday
The trip from Newark to Orlando was delayed by several hours until a replacement plane was arranged
The Orlando-bound plane had just returned to the gate due to a maintenance issue, passenger Rebecca Blum said.
She said she felt “shocked”. [then] looked out and clearly saw that the wing of a larger plane had clipped our wing. Definitely heard. Felt soft I would say but more so the sound. I think we were like, what was that?’
Passengers were able to disembark safely before another plane was arranged a few hours later at around 11.40am.
The FAA said: “United Flight 2135 was struck this morning by a Boeing 787, a Dreamliner, arriving from Johannesburg, South Africa. The much larger aircraft was moved by a tow truck when it made contact with the smaller Boeing 757 which was parked at the gate.”
Photographs of the damage show one aircraft’s wingtip torn off in the impact. Police and firefighters from the Port Authority carried away the broken wing piece.
The Newark incident occurred hours before a near miss in Austin. A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 in yellow remained on the runway while a FedEx Boeing 767 in orange was cleared to land
Less than 24 hours later Saturday morning, a FedEx cargo plane approached a commercial Southwest flight with 128 people on board less than 100 feet into another near-Austin fog.
Jennifer Homendy, the chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, announced Monday that the planes narrowly avoided a catastrophic collision.
The Boeing 767 FedEx flight approached the runway in poor visibility while a Southwest Boeing 737 was being cleared for takeoff on the same runway.
According to the FAA, the FedEx flight was about three miles from the airport when it was cleared to land.
But just before landing, an air traffic controller also gave the green light for the Southwest Boeing 737 to take off on the exact same runway.
The Southwest flight bound for Cancun, Mexico, continued its takeoff even though the FedEx cargo plane was directly overhead.
The Southwest jet was able to depart safely and the FedEx machine landed without further incident.
A similar near-miss at JFK Airport in New York City followed in January when a Delta flight was forced to stop during takeoff while an American Airlines Boeing 777 crossed the same runway.
The Delta plane stopped about 300 feet from where the American Airlines plane crossed from an adjacent runway.
In another near miss at JFK on Jan. 13, a Delta flight taking off was forced to make an emergency stop after an American Airlines flight crossed the runway
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James is an author and travel journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a love for exploring new cultures and discovering unique destinations, James brings his readers on a journey with him through his articles.
