Seems like Samsung and their “exploding phones” are back in business…
On Monday evening after landing in Seattle, Alaska Airlines had to do an emergency evacuation of its passengers after a smartphone caught fire and created “hazy conditions inside the cabin.”
According to one of the Seattle police officers, the phone in question was a Samsung Galaxy A21 but this has not been verified yet. “After much digging, I can tell you that the phone was burned beyond recognition,” said Perry Cooper, a spokesperson for the Port of Seattle. Meanwhile, Samsung is aware of the situation and is conducting a thorough investigation into the matter as “safety is a top priority.”
The plane’s cabin crew had to use fire extinguishers and a battery containment bag to “stop the phone from smoking”. Passengers were evacuated via the evacuation slides as it got too smokey inside the plane to see clearly. They were then taken to the terminal by bus. Fortunately, there were no major mishaps and only two people were taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries. According to a Twitter user who was a passenger on the flight and witnessed the incident recalled the cabin as a “smoke machine.”
This isn’t the first time that Samsung is in the headlines for exploding phones (remember Galaxy Note 7?) but it’s still not confirmed whether the smartphone that caught fire was actually a Samsung or not. Similarly, it would be an overly dramatic statement to claim that the A21 model has some sort of defect. There are many reasons how batteries in smartphones can catch fire and it has happened to a lot of brands, not just Samsung alone so putting the blame on the company straight away might not be the wisest decision.
