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An Alaska Airlines flight was evacuated on Monday night after a smartphone on the plane caught fire, reports The Seattle Times (via The Verge). A spokesperson for the Port of Seattle said that the device that was burned was a Samsung Galaxy A21.

samsung-galaxy-a21.jpg

In an email to The Seattle Times, the Port of Seattle spokesperson said that the phone was "burned beyond recognition," but the passenger who owned the device provided details on the model. "We could not confirm it by looking at the remains of the device," said the spokesperson.

The flight crew extinguished the fire with a battery containment bag, but smoke forced the deployment of the evacuation slides. The smartphone did not catch fire until the flight had landed at the Seattle-Tacoma airport. 128 passengers and six crew members were transported by bus to the terminal, and there were no serious injuries.


On Twitter, a passenger who was on the flight said that the burning smartphone was "like a smoke machine."


There are often isolated incidents of cellular phones catching fire after issues with the battery, but in this cause, the problem could be notable as back in 2016, Samsung was forced to recall its Galaxy Note 7 due to exploding batteries.

At that time, there were multiple reports of Note 7 devices exploding or catching fire while charging, and the device was ultimately banned from all airplanes and flights in the United States.

There has been no evidence that the Galaxy A21 is facing a similar widespread issue at this time.

Article Link: A Samsung Galaxy A21 Smartphone Caught Fire on a Plane
 
Wow…here we go again. Why would u just not buy an iPhone? It boggles the mind….I think the reason is that smartphones are so important to people’s lives that they would rather suffer with a galaxy then admit they were wrong about such an important purchase….btw I hate getting that puke green text back.
uhhhhh pretty sure iPhones have exploded before as well …
 
Seems like a slow news day. Hopefully just an isolated incident. I’m sure MacRumors will report an iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 fire… right?
You clearly don’t come here much. They are far more likely to report issues with iPhones than Android device. If there is some random complaint about anything Apple on any tiny site, we will hear about it.
 
I’m sure MacRumors will report an iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 fire… right?
No.

The story about an iPhone 6 fire on a flight to Hawaii didn't make front page news because it was one tiny isolated incident... kinda like this one about the Samsung A21


Nor did the story about an iPhone 6 that nearly exploded in a 11 year old girl's hand while she was using it


Or the story of an iPhone 6 Plus exploding in a kid's back pocket while he was in class


Or the iPhone 7 that burned up a guy's car



A story about airlines banning Mac laptops did make front page though



I don't even recall seeing MR report on the iPhone XR fire


or iPhone X exploding



though the iPhone 4 fire did make front page, but it didn't happen on a plane.

 
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History is repeating itself. This is where it begins…

Looks like Crapsung did not learn their lesson. They’re always having issues with the cell phones getting caught on fire 🔥

Imagine ur flight got delayed because of stupid Crapsung phone getting caught on fire. How annoying is that?
 
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You clearly don’t come here much. They are far more likely to report issues with iPhones than Android device. If there is some random complaint about anything Apple on any tiny site, we will hear about it.
I visit the site multiple times a day. I’m just pointing out that isolated incidents are just that. If there’s several reports about the same model, I’d be concerned. I remember the Sony battery recall of 2006. Apple, HP, Dell, Lenovo, Sony, etc we’re app impacted.
 
Kind of overreacting to a small fire. Evacuating passengers using the slides was unnecessary. There are people injured because of that. Thousand of dollars cost to make the plane operational again. Lithium powered devices are common enough that proper training should be given to flight attendants. Is not a bomb…
 
What will Samsung’s recommendation be:
“Don’t leave your smartphone in the garage over night, leave it outside”
These batteries can cause hazard, whether in a phone or in a car…
 
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Kind of overreacting to a small fire. Evacuating passengers using the slides was unnecessary. There are people injured because of that. Thousand of dollars cost to make the plane operational again. Lithium powered devices are common enough that proper training should be given to flight attendants. Is not a bomb…
I guess too bad that you were not sitting next to said passenger?
Ever heard the phrase “safety first”?
 
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