SAFETY
Laptops get hot, but can they cause a plane to catch on fire? The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating whether laptop batteries caused a UPS cargo plane to catch on fire in February 2006. The DC-8 plane with three crew members made an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport after a fire broke out in the cargo hold. The fire continued to burn for four hours destroying the plane and most of the UPS packages inside.
Luckily, the crew on board UPS flight 1307 escaped with only minor injuries. In the accident investigation, NTSB officials have concluded that lithium batteries and a flammable liquid were in the cargo hold, but have not yet determined the exact cause of the fire. The investigation is expected to take several more months to complete.
The NTSB held separate public hearings about the fire on July 12 and 13th. The hearings didn't focus on whether the batteries were the cause of the fire, but rather how batteries are made and how they can fail.
FAA official William Wilkening testified that there have been 60 incidents since 1991 that involved batteries catching on fire, smoking or getting hot. According to Wilkening, most of the batteries were lithium or lithium-ion. He added that in the past ten years the FAA has given 49 fines totaling $517,000 for improper packaging of lithium batteries. Harry Webster with the FAA Technical Center testified that lithium-ion batteries could vent flammable liquid and "pose a risk to the cargo compartment."
Several other incidents have occurred in recent years in which lithium batteries – used in laptops and cell phones – have caught fire aboard airplanes. Less than two months ago in Chicago, a spare laptop battery packed in a bag stored in an overhead bin started emitting smoke, chief crash investigator Frank Hilldrup of the NTSB testified Wednesday.
A flight attendant used an extinguisher and the bag was removed, but the bag caught fire on a ramp, Hilldrup said. Investigators in the Philadelphia fire found that several computer laptop batteries were on board the plane, and that in many cases portions of the laptop batteries had burned, he said.
“It is not known at this time the role these batteries may have played in the fire,” Hilldrup said.
Some i n flight PED use consequences:
In October of 1998, a Boeing 757, flying from Seattle to Covington/Cincinnati, experienced loss of all three of its autopilot systems. Flight attendants checked for a passenger using a portable electronic device and discovered a man wearing headphones, which were part of a hearing aid. The passenger was allowed to continue using the device, but was moved forward several rows. The autopilot system then regained full operational capabilities and was later checked by maintenance, with no problems being found.
In March of 1997, a Cessna 340/A pilot experienced erroneous readings when attempting to determine his location because of a passenger using a cellular phone. After the passenger turned off the phone, the pilot was able to locate his position and continue on with no problems.
In January of 1997, a regional jet was flying from Salt Lake City to Eugene. The flight crew received three separate warning messages stating that there were disagreements between the captain’s and the first officer’s instruments. The three warnings were for discrepancies in heading, airspeed, and altitude indicators. After flight attendants checked the cabin for passengers using portable electronic devices and had the devices turned off, all problems ceased.
In August 1995, an aircraft making its approach to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston was advised that it was 4 miles off course. Because the course director indicators had been scalloping left and right of center, the captain ordered the flight attendant to check the cabin for any passengers using a portable electronic device. Within 15 seconds, problems with the course director indicators disappeared. The captain later learned that a passenger had been using a portable computer.
In May of 1995, the electric compass indicators of the first officer of a Boeing 737 gave erratic readings. After a sweep of the cabin was made for portable electronic devices, which resulted in flight attendants asking a passenger to turn off a compact disc player, the first officer’s instruments returned to normal working order.
Shortly after takeoff from Baltimore, in April 1994, an aircraft was advised by ground control that it was 10 miles off course, though the plane’s instruments indicated nothing abnormal. It was found that a passenger in first class was using a portable computer. After the computer was turned off, navigation instruments returned to normal.
In February 1994, a turboprop aircraft flying government officials from Lake Havasu, AZ to Yuma, AZ experienced trouble with its navigational radios. Ground control showed that the airplane was off course and gave corrections. However, the plane’s navigation system had been checked earlier in the month and was said to have zero error. After the flight, the pilot learned that at least one passenger was using a cellular phone while the plane was in the air.
In August 1992, a turbojet aircraft was notified three times, by two different control towers, that it looked to be off course. All instruments in the cockpit were showing the plane’s position to be correct. Flight attendants searched for portable electronic devices and found a tape machine and a hand-held video game unit in use. The devices were turned off and there were no other navigational discrepancies during the flight.
In September of 1990, a plane travelling from Boston to Youngstown/Warren, OH was advised it was off course and was issued a new heading. The plane’s navigational instruments showed it to be on course. After checking the cabin for portable electronic devices, the lead flight attendant informed the captain that 23 passengers were using AM/FM cassette players and one passenger was using a personal computer. The passengers were asked to turn off the devices and the flight proceeded without further incident.
Customers flying Virgin Atlantic international flights are now being requested to remove the batteries of their Apple and Dell laptops before take-off.
This will hamper laptop use as most seats on Virgin jets are not equipped with power sockets.
The condition is due to reports that certain laptop batteries could catch fire.
Now a total of three airlines have meted conditions on Dell and Apple laptops: Virgin, Qantas and Korean Air.
Last August, Dell had called for a recall of more than 4 million laptop batteries manufactured by Sony.
Following that, Apple also announced the recall of 1.8 million batteries also made by Sony.
"Virgin is in communication with Apple and Dell. As soon as this safety issue is resolved these restrictions will be lifted," said the airline in its statement.
