A Power Bank Started Smoking Under a Seat on Approach to Jeju

A passenger suffered a burn on an HK Express flight to South Korea on Sunday after a power bank overheated and began smoking in a bag stowed under a seat. Flight UO676 from Hong Kong to Jeju was carrying 236 passengers and seven crew when the device started to smoke as the aircraft approached its destination.

A woman in her fifties burned her left thumb while pulling the device out of the bag. Cabin crew followed procedure, placing the power bank in a heat-resistant containment bag and then submerging it in water. The Airbus A321 landed safely at Jeju at about 6 a.m. local time. Paramedics examined the passenger at the airport, and South Korean media reported she declined to be taken to hospital. No other injuries were reported.

The cause of the overheating has not been established. HK Express, a low-cost subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, apologised and said passenger and crew safety is its highest priority. The airline’s own rules, as reported by the South China Morning Post, bar passengers from charging power banks from in-seat power supplies or using power banks to charge devices during flight.

The same rules say power banks cannot go in overhead compartments. They must stay in cabin baggage under the seat in front of you, or in designated spots such as seatback pockets, where a smoking battery can be spotted and reached quickly. The report does not cover Hong Kong or South Korean government regulations, so check your own airline’s policy before you fly.

Sources: Aviation A2Z, HK Express