iPhone 4 Experiences 'Self Combustion' Aboard Just-Landed Aircraft

MacRumors · Nov 28, 2011, 02:07 PM

The Register points to a press release (PDF) from Australian airline Regional Express describing an incident last Friday in which an iPhone experienced "self combustion" onboard an aircraft just after the flight landed in Sydney. Based on an accompanying photo of the damaged iPhone, the device appears to be an iPhone 4.

Quote:

Regional Express (Rex) flight ZL319 operating from Lismore to Sydney today had an occurrence after landing, when a passenger's mobile phone started emitting a significant amount of dense smoke, accompanied by a red glow.

In accordance with company standard safety procedures, the Flight Attendant carried out recovery actions immediately and the red glow was extinguished successfully.

A photo of the device shows a shattered rear glass panel and an apparent burn or scorch mark in the area corresponding to the lower half of the device's battery.

The press release offers no additional information on the circumstances surrounding the incident, such as whether the passenger was attempting to use the device at the time, but the iPhone has been turned over to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau for investigation.

iPhone-related combustion is not an unheard-of phenomenon, although most reported incidents appear to have involved charging issues. This incident's occurrence on an airplane does, however, obviously draw some attention to the dangers of any potential combustion sources in such settings and will no doubt be thoroughly investigated in an attempt to determine its root cause.

Article Link: iPhone 4 Experiences 'Self Combustion' Aboard Just-Landed Aircraft

kylebshr · Nov 28, 2011, 02:10 PM

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

Yikes!

kevinkt · Nov 28, 2011, 02:10 PM

Wait..... What????

jamesryanbell · Nov 28, 2011, 02:11 PM

Probably a defective phone. It's never happened BEFORE this that we know of, and I'm sure a ton of people with iPhones travel.

Dooger · Nov 28, 2011, 02:11 PM

In before the obligatory (and hilarious) "you're holding it wrong" post

iRCL · Nov 28, 2011, 02:13 PM

Must be jailbroken!

l.w41sh · Nov 28, 2011, 02:14 PM

I laughed.

Michaelgtrusa · Nov 28, 2011, 02:14 PM

Scary.

iParis · Nov 28, 2011, 02:15 PM

Have fun explaining this one to the genius bar. : P

Mad-B-One · Nov 28, 2011, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dooger

In before the obligatory (and hilarious) "you're holding it wrong" post

Quote:

Originally Posted by iRCL

Must be jailbroken!

Nope. Both wrong: That was the device Apple handed over to Samsung's lawyers for the court case. It infringes on Samsung's self-destruction patents!

topmounter · Nov 28, 2011, 02:15 PM

Reminds me of a Chevy Volt.

Barnzee · Nov 28, 2011, 02:16 PM

I wonder if they thought is was a bomb

Comeagain? · Nov 28, 2011, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dooger

In before the obligatory (and hilarious) "you're holding it wrong" post

They must have been holding it wrong.

Thunderhawks · Nov 28, 2011, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dooger

In before the obligatory (and hilarious) "you're holding it wrong" post

Talk about having "airplane mode" configured wrong!

Popeye206 · Nov 28, 2011, 02:17 PM

Obviously, anything can happen... I just hope this doesn't cause some silly over the top reaction that bans electronic devices from planes! That would stink!

I can't even imagine my iPhone4 getting that hot to burst and melt. I've never even noticed mine getting warm really and I use it all the time. Weird.

Jerome Morrow · Nov 28, 2011, 02:17 PM

Just because it's an iPhone this thing will be spinned to the max.

Skika · Nov 28, 2011, 02:17 PM

Inb4 explosiongate.

trip1ex · Nov 28, 2011, 02:17 PM

Battery ruptured/something shorted. Maybe due to changes in pressure during the flight. That's my bet. BAd part.

Rocko1 · Nov 28, 2011, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alliks

I wouldnt want that to be my iphone Image

The guy dropped it and is looking for a free replacement obviously.

Thunderhawks · Nov 28, 2011, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barnzee

I wonder if they thought is was a bomb

Isn't there a combustion app?

bgtrack · Nov 28, 2011, 02:17 PM

Great, now they won't let us carry iPhones on planes.

DESNOS · Nov 28, 2011, 02:18 PM

Looks like the battery. These things happen. Batteries are known to combust on rare occasions.

JilzVT · Nov 28, 2011, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerome Morrow

Just because it's an iPhone this thing will be spinned to the max.

As it should be. Heavy lies the crown...

syan48306 · Nov 28, 2011, 02:18 PM

Looks like Apple's giving him a new free 4S.

Tonewheel · Nov 28, 2011, 02:19 PM

No mystery, really. This phone belonged to one Mr. Jim Phelps.

Nov 28, 2011, 02:11 PM	#4
jamesryanbell macrumors 68000 Join Date: Mar 2009	Probably a defective phone. It's never happened BEFORE this that we know of, and I'm sure a ton of people with iPhones travel. __________________ Mac Mini Quad-Core i7 Server 8GB RAM MBA 11.6" w/OWC 240GB SSD 27" Cinema Display iPhone 4S 64GB, Apple TV3
	5

Nov 28, 2011, 02:13 PM	#6
iRCL macrumors 6502 Join Date: Nov 2011	Must be jailbroken!
	-3

Nov 28, 2011, 02:14 PM	#7
l.w41sh macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida	I laughed. __________________ iPhone 5 16GB running iOS 6.1. iPad 3 32GB running iOS 6.1. 15" Retina MacBook Pro, 2.6GHz quad i7, 16 GB, 512GB OS X 10.8.2.
	-5

Nov 28, 2011, 02:14 PM	#8
Michaelgtrusa macrumors 68040 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Everywhere And Nowhere	Scary. __________________ iMACAll life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. TWITTER TUMBLR
	6

Nov 28, 2011, 02:15 PM	#9
iParis macrumors 68040 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: New Mexico	Have fun explaining this one to the genius bar. : P __________________ - AirPort Express Base Station 2012 - iPhone 5 64GB / Black & Slate / Verizon / iOS 6.1 - MacBook C2D 2.16GHz / 2GB ram / 120GB HD / 10.7.5 - Mac mini C2D 1.83GHz / 4GB ram / 120GB HD / 10.7.5
	36

Nov 28, 2011, 02:10 PM	#2
kylebshr macrumors member Join Date: Aug 2011	Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3) Yikes!
	11

Nov 28, 2011, 02:10 PM	#3
kevinkt macrumors regular Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Hawaii	Wait..... What????
	8

Nov 28, 2011, 02:11 PM	#5
Dooger macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2009	In before the obligatory (and hilarious) "you're holding it wrong" post
	30

Nov 28, 2011, 02:15 PM	#11
topmounter macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jun 2009	Reminds me of a Chevy Volt. __________________ iLoveDrones.com
	-9

Nov 28, 2011, 02:16 PM	#12
Barnzee macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Oak Harbor, WA	I wonder if they thought is was a bomb
	22

Nov 28, 2011, 02:17 PM	#15
Popeye206 macrumors 68020 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: NE PA USA	Obviously, anything can happen... I just hope this doesn't cause some silly over the top reaction that bans electronic devices from planes! That would stink! I can't even imagine my iPhone4 getting that hot to burst and melt. I've never even noticed mine getting warm really and I use it all the time. Weird.
	16

Nov 28, 2011, 02:17 PM	#16
Jerome Morrow Banned Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: United Kingdom	Just because it's an iPhone this thing will be spinned to the max.
	29

Nov 28, 2011, 02:17 PM	#17
Skika macrumors 68000 Join Date: Mar 2009	Inb4 explosiongate. __________________ Macbook Pro, iPad, iPhone
	20

Nov 28, 2011, 02:17 PM	#18
trip1ex macrumors 68000 Join Date: Jan 2008	Battery ruptured/something shorted. Maybe due to changes in pressure during the flight. That's my bet. BAd part.
	4

Nov 28, 2011, 02:17 PM	#21
bgtrack macrumors regular Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: East Lansing	Great, now they won't let us carry iPhones on planes. __________________ 11" MBA, 32GB Black iPhone 4S
	13

Nov 28, 2011, 02:18 PM	#22
DESNOS macrumors 6502 Join Date: Aug 2011	Looks like the battery. These things happen. Batteries are known to combust on rare occasions.
	6

Nov 28, 2011, 02:18 PM	#24
syan48306 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Apr 2010	Looks like Apple's giving him a new free 4S. __________________ 2012 rMBP 15: 2.6 QM i7, 8 GB RAM, 512G SSD
	12

Nov 28, 2011, 02:19 PM	#25
Tonewheel macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2007	No mystery, really. This phone belonged to one Mr. Jim Phelps.
	6

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