Smoking Lithium Battery Forces Swiss Air Jet To Land In Bangor
The trapped power bank forced a runway closure and an emergency landing of the Zurich-to-New York flight on July 27.
A Swiss International Air Lines jet flying from Zurich, Switzerland, toward John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York diverted to Bangor International Airport on July 27 after a passenger's power bank began smoking in flight, the airline said in a statement reported by the Bangor Daily News. The device, a headphone charger containing a lithium battery, had gotten wedged between seats; once trapped there it overheated, and crew spotted smoke near the front of business class. Swiss Air said the crew brought the plane down to pinpoint the smoke's source and rule out any danger, and the airport closed its runway that morning for the landing. Under a policy Swiss Air adopted at the start of the year, passengers may carry power banks such as headphone chargers but are capped at two apiece, cannot charge them in flight and cannot stow them in overhead bins. Damaged lithium batteries, or ones charged or used incorrectly, can overheat and even catch fire or explode, the National Fire Protection Association warns. Federal rules add further limits: the TSA allows approved lithium batteries only in carry-on bags, and the FAA keeps portable power stations and generators above 160 watt hours off passenger flights.
This story was first reported by Bangor Daily News.
