iPhone Glows Red and Combusts on Airplane…While in Flight
- Posted on November 29, 2011 at 2:29pm by
Liz Klimas
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You can probably imagine passengers‘ angst when a fellow rider’s iPhone began smoking on Quantas airline Regional Express flight ZL319 from Lismore to Sydney, Australia.
According to the press release, a passenger’s iPhone, which appeared to be the iPhone 4 not the newer 4S, “started emitting a significant amount of dense smoke, accompanied by a red glow.” No passengers were harmed and the fire was properly extinguished.
The phone was turned over to authorities who are conducting an investigation as to what resulted in what appears to be a spontaneous combustion.
Yahoo News reports that random malfunctions resulting in smoke or explosions of electronics is not unheard of, although in Apple products it is rare. It says that the problems usually occur when the lithium ion batteries overheat.
[H/T SlashGear]
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Comments (60)
cyclops
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 9:20amWait a minute now…….what happened?……………Oh no……..No more of that on a plane……..TSA will now restrict that……………………………..LOL!!!!!!!
Report Post »Bill in Texas
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 9:28amlol, is there an app for that? lol
Report Post »old white guy
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 9:49amheh. people will soon have to be naked to get on a plane.
Report Post »DrFrost
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 10:59am@old white guy
If that happens I’m going to refuse to sit next to any overweight people.
Report Post »Secret Squirrel
Posted on December 1, 2011 at 8:49pm.
Report Post »Here’s my guess.
A. He was charging it improperly.
B. It was turned on.
I see 80% of cell phone users never turn their phones off.
Dismayed Veteran
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 9:06amI think he was lucky that the IPhone wasn’t in his pants pocket.
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 9:25amlol! you ever see a i{hone owner that wasn’t fondling it like it was the golden egg?
Report Post »MrObvious
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 8:52amWhat ever happened to the pure barium ultra-capacitors?
They were supposed to be able to fully replace li-ion batteries; but, we haven’t heard a thing on that in quite a while now.
O well, one more potential new tech bites the dust.
I wonder if anyone is working Mr Fusion (Back to the Future reference)?
Hint to portable device users: if you batteries start getting hot, turn of the device and unplug it from power.
Report Post »Hint to Volt users: don’t crash.
babylonvi
Posted on December 2, 2011 at 1:27pmAll the barium is being used for the giant enema they are giving the US economy.
Report Post »WoodChuck
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 8:48amMmmm. Apple Crisp!
Report Post »9111315
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 9:24amNot one to pick on Apple just because they are Apple, but that was funny. I don’t care who you are.
Report Post »MidWestMom
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 10:42amRofl…too funny
Report Post »N5DVC
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 11:10amHow many ‘rotten’ Apples does it take for people to wake up?? iPhones are like Obama: people are attracted to them because someone told them they were cool, Reality hits you hard, bro!
Report Post »plumbadrumma
Posted on December 1, 2011 at 1:21pmGood one WOODCHUCK!
Report Post »dpselfe
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 7:46amFunny, the same thing is now happening to the Chevy (Runs Deep………in debt) Volt‘s lithium ion battery when it’s dropped or bumped in an accident. Three of them have caught fire so far.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2812988/posts
Report Post »Homeschoolmama
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 2:01pmHaven’t they sold only 4 Chevy Volts? Lol
Report Post »Tickdog
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 7:31amfascinating…
Report Post »L0WRYDER
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 7:19amTher is a LAW about Primary Lithum Batteries forbidden for transport aboard passenger aircraft something about safty you think could be a FIRE
Report Post »TXPilot
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 7:25amIt’s not the fault of the phone itself for what happened, but instead it’s the battery. This incident is called a “thermal runaway”, which is something that does happen to this and other types of rechargeable batteries in rare instances. It might have been a fault when the battery was manufactured, but could also be from damage sustained when the phone was dropped at some point, by the owner.
Report Post »endgamer
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 7:02amGet ready for a CELL phone ban on all planes! This is a setup!!
Report Post »jb.kibs
Posted on December 1, 2011 at 11:18pmtotally.
Report Post »Docroxall
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:28amInstant Apple Brown Betty?
Report Post »holy ghostbuster
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:16amNow TSA will probably ban cell phones and laptops.
Report Post »gringoviejo
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:06amAll aircraft have to be fitted with an Emergency Locator Transmitter or beacon (ELT) which use Lithium batteries. Laptops use Lithium batteries, cellphones too. But there are things you are not allowed to send by normal Fedex/UPS consignment, like firearms, ammo, explosives and Lithium Batteries – you can’t even send a spare ELT battery by Fedex if it will go by air, even though the plane is fitted with one.
Report Post »When cars crash, generally there is some structural damage, often cut wires & cables, sparks and short-circuits, so just imagine a 1000-pound battery with wheels and passengers at 70 mph, surrounded by lots of others. And for good measure make it a Lithium battery, you know, the sort that heat up when the current is too high, like from a short-circuit.
Looks like the only safe electric car will have a top speed of 10 mph to limit damage in crashes, and a 50-pound battery – in other words a golf-cart.
Long live the greenies with their Zero-Emission shopping trolleys!
Long live the tree-huggers with their mercury-filled Eco-bulbs!
Long live the green-job gurus with their “shovel-ready“ and ”market-ready” projects!
So where do we get the clean-green Hydrogen? From filthy black coal or from filthy black oil.
Where do we get that spotlessly clean electricity to charge the shopping trolleys? From filthy black coal or from filthy black oil or nasty, nasty uranium.
And where do we get that lovely nice Lithium for our shopping trolley batteries? Probably China.
holy ghostbuster
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:15amReally? FedEx won’t ship lithium batteries? I received my iPhone and iPad by FedEx and both contained lithium batteries.
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:38amHe said if it’s going by air, they won’t ship it FedEx. Apparently yours went surface.
There was an article about an electric car suddenly catching fire and taking a few nearby cars with it.
Report Post »FreddyJ
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 9:15amI would have trouble believing that a battery-powered electric car is more hazardous to my health than a car filled with…GASOLINE!! I don’t care what my car is powered by, as long as it works. The internal combustion engine has a 100+ year head start on battery-powered vehicles; it’s going to take some time for battery technology to evolve. Let’s see what makes more sense in 10 years…
On the pollution issue: which is more efficient means of pollution control…a million catalytic converters, or scrubber systems on a few coal-fired power plants? I certainly don’t buy that electric vehicles emit “zero emissions”, but common sense tells me which option is more managable.
And, no, I don’t drive a Volt, Prius or anything of the sort. Hemi V-8 baby!!
Report Post »jackel44
Posted on December 1, 2011 at 6:18amElectric cars are not new to the united states. Thomas Edison had an electric powered car.
Report Post »lylejk
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 5:44amrrra-rrow. Looks like a big recall for Apple soon. Might want to get some pointers from Toyota and GM. lol
You might can tell I care little about Apple. :)
Report Post »yooyanks
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 5:21amWell of course it blew, they didn’t have it in “airplane” mode… ;)
Report Post »jaylew
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 3:36amI agree with the comments about lithium ion batteries….i work in IT mainly with laptops…and over my career more than a few laptop battery packs have been recalled due to the potential of fire. One area of so called “green” technology that is not only fascinating but is also critical to future electronic designs is clearly the development of newer types of batteries….of all sizes. I am far from an environmentalist…but I did major in chemistry and can tell you that lithium “anything” has the potential of being poisonous and toxic….it is in the same part of the periodic table where lots of similar poisonous elements are found. For some reason batteries all seem historically to have one or more nasty components to them…..to the company or person who can change that current dynamic…they could very well be the next Bill Gates. Batteries are indeed…a very big deal.
Report Post »lylejk
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 5:47amFool cell battery based on very week methanol. They really need to perfect this technology. Seems the alcohol concentration is so week in these fuel cells that I have a hard time believing they would catch on file. Much higher concentration of energy too. That has to be the future. Also, the added benifit is near instant charge since you just pop in another cassette when needed. Very cheap too and arguable cheaper then charging batteries. :)
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:15amThe very nature of a battery dictates that it’s always going to involve some not so nice processes and/or materials.
As for the fuel cell idea, that’s a pipedream. Fuel cells require constant re-fueling just like your car does. Nobody is going to want to fill up their iphone every week. There is no point even selling a tool of convenience if you’re going to consciously make it inconvenient to use.
Report Post »Randyrocker
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 2:38amCabin pressure?
Report Post »SomeRandomPerson
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:55amLol, this is why you’re not supposed to use cell phones on an airplane.
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:54amI guess some iPhones just don’t like to iFly.
Report Post »dirtydog1776
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:21amIs the battery a Muslim suicide bomber terrorist?
Report Post »Bonnieblue2A
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:42amApparently the fire extinguisher app was unionized.
Report Post »powedj
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:33amIt‘s George Bushs’ fault.
Report Post »408 CheyTac
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:29amMmmmmm baked apples!
Report Post »itjmiller
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:18amThis happens way more then the media or Apple let on. Lithium ion batteries can explode quite violently, quite often, and more so, in Apple’s products. They actually make products to protect you while charging these types of batteries. http://www.liposack.com/ Not for your cell phones, but for hobby batteries, which are close to the same type. I don’t understand why people are so surprised when this happens…
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:37amTrue statements. It happens so often in lithium batteries that every workcenter in the Marine Corps that recharges these batteries has to have emergency ventilation, fire doors, and a dunk tank outside consisting of a metal 55 gallon drum half full of water to contain the heat and explosion of large lithium batteries on a thermal runaway. And all it takes for such a runaway to happen is to short the circuit or let it run over its deisgned amperage. Then it heats up and away it goes.
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:43amI also heard you’re not supposed to answer any cell phone (Iphone or not) while it’s charging. Take it off the charger and then answer it.
Report Post »ZeroOff4impact
Posted on November 29, 2011 at 11:15pmNot good !
Report Post »MeMadMax
Posted on November 29, 2011 at 9:58pmiExplode.
Report Post »liberalescheisskopf
Posted on November 29, 2011 at 7:59pmWouldn’t that be iPhoneous combustion??
Report Post »Winedude
Posted on November 29, 2011 at 9:14pmExcellent…great post!
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