iPhone Glows Red and Combusts on Airplane...While in Flight

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]