On Monday, an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to New Orleans had a cell phone caught on fire in the cabin. The phone, a Samsung Galaxy A21 was the device that burst into flames according to Perry Cooper, a spokesperson for the Port of Seattle.
In an email sent to The Seattle Times by Perry Cooper, he said that “After much digging, I can tell you that the phone was burned beyond recognition. However, during an interview with one of our Port of Seattle Police officers, the passenger volunteered the phone was a Samsung Galaxy A21. Again, we could not confirm it by looking at the remains of the device.”
An Alaska Airlines spokesperson told The Verge that the plane’s crew were quick to respond and used fire extinguishers and a battery confinement bag to “stop the phone from smoking”. Due to hazy conditions inside the cabin, the passengers on board were evacuated using the evacuation slides and two of the many onboard were treated at a local hospital.
A Twitter user who was on board the Alaska Airlines flight that was evacuated took to Twitter to explain what it was like for him in that situation. Maddy Harrison, the Twitter user onboard the airline said “The passenger was 2-3 rows behind me on the opposite side. It was like a smoke machine. Flight attendants did an excellent job and all passengers were very calm. I believe one person sitting beside them might have minor injuries.”
The Alaska Airlines spokesperson said that two passengers were treated at a local hospital and the other passengers were taken to the terminal by bus. While the citation may bring back memories from Samsung and their fiasco with the Galaxy Note 7 when the devices started bursting into flames over faulty batteries, it is unclear as of now whether there is any defect with different models of the A21 or it was just the one device.
Samsung has not provided any official statement as of now and declined to provide any comment upon The Verge’s request.
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