| Occurrence Briefs are concise reports that detail the facts surrounding a transport safety occurrence, as received in the initial notification and any follow-up enquiries. They provide an opportunity to share safety messages in the absence of an investigation. |
What happened
On the 26 September 2018 at 0615 Eastern Standard Time, an Airbus 380 was in cruise toward the end of the flight from Los Angeles, United States to Melbourne, Victoria.
Shortly after a passenger in seat 18B had moved their seat they heard a cracking noise and could not locate their personal electronic device (PED). Smoke and flames were then observed emanating from the seat. Cabin crew confirmed the source of the smoke and flames was coming from under the seat.
Power to the row of seats was cut and cabin crew followed their basic fire drill training and discharged four BCF extinguishers and water to extinguish the fire.
The smoke dissipated and crew were able to distinguish the remains of a mobile phone at the rear of the left hand seat track, but were unable to remove it from its position. The decision was made to continue the flight to Melbourne and a cabin crew member was tasked with remaining seated beside the seat to ensure the phone did not reignite.
There were no injuries sustained and the remainder of the flight proceeded without further incident.
Engineers disassembled and checked the seat and found no damage to the seat, wiring or the surrounding area. The phone had been completely crushed by the seat.
Figure 1. Crushed PED in the seat track
Safety message
Dropping a PED whilst in flight is not uncommon, however passengers are reminded to never attempt to move the seat or extricate the PED themselves. If a PED becomes lost, alert a crewmember immediately. They will employ the appropriate techniques to find and remove the item, to ensure the device does not become a hazard in flight.
This incident highlights the effective response by cabin crew to an emergency situation. By quickly implementing the basic fire drill procedure the incident was effectively contained.
The ATSB investigation report, (AO-2016-066) Personal electronic device fire in-flight involving Boeing 747, VH-OJS, 500 km WNW of John F. Kennedy International Airport, United States, on 21 June 2016, is available from the ATSB website for more information on the hazards PEDs.
About this report
Decisions regarding whether to conduct an investigation, and the scope of an investigation, are based on many factors, including the level of safety benefit likely to be obtained from an investigation. For this occurrence, no investigation has been conducted and the ATSB did not verify the accuracy of the information. A brief description has been written using information supplied in the notification and any follow-up information in order to produce a short summary report, and allow for greater industry awareness of potential safety issues and possible safety actions.