FAA warns airline passengers not to use Samsung smartphone
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A screen magnification feature of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is demonstrated, in New York on July 28. Aviation safety officials took the extraordinary step of warning airline passengers not to turn on or charge a new model Samsung smartphone during flights following numerous reports of the devices catching fire.
WASHINGTON » U.S. aviation safety officials took the extraordinary step late Thursday of warning airline passengers not to turn on or charge a new-model Samsung smartphone during flights following numerous reports of the devices catching fire.
The Federal Aviation Administration also warned passengers not to put the Galaxy Note 7 phones in their checked bags, citing “recent incidents and concerns raised by Samsung” about the devices. It is extremely unusual for the FAA to warn passengers about a specific product.
Last week, Samsung ordered a global recall of the jumbo phones after its investigation of explosion reports found the rechargeable lithium batteries were at fault. In one case, a family in St. Petersburg, Florida, reported a Galaxy Note 7 phone left charging in their Jeep caught fire, destroying the vehicle.
Australian airline companies were among the first to take measures. Qantas has asked passengers not to switch the Note 7 devices on and not to charge them during flights, its spokeswoman Sharna Rhys-Jones said. Media reports said other Australian airlines took a similar step, including Jetstar Airways and Virgin Australia.
Shares of Samsung suffered their second worst day of the year, tumbling 4 percent Friday on the Korea Exchange.
Samsung launched the latest version of the Note series in August. The Note series is one of the most expensive lineups released by Samsung, and the devices usually inherit designs and features of the Galaxy S phones that debut in the spring. Samsung also added an iris scanner to the Note 7, which detects patterns in users’ eyes to unlock the phone.
Before the issue of battery explosions emerged, supplies were not keeping up with higher-than-expected demand for the smartphone.
The Note 7 isn’t the only gadget to catch fire thanks to lithium-battery problems, which have afflicted everything from laptops to Tesla cars to Boeing’s 787 jetliner.
Rechargeable lithium batteries are more susceptible to overheating than other types of batteries if they are exposed to high temperatures, are damaged or have manufacturing flaws. Once the overheating starts, it can lead to “thermal runaway” in which temperatures continue escalating to very high levels. Water can extinguish the flames, but doesn’t always halt the thermal runaway. Flames will often reappear after initially being quenched.
Lithium batteries are ubiquitous in consumer electronic devices. Manufacturers like them because they weigh less and pack considerably more energy into the same space than other types of batteries.
Earlier this year, the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency that sets global aviation safety standards, banned bulk shipments of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger planes until better packaging can be developed to prevent a fire from spreading and potentially destroying the plane.
Kristen Gelineau in Sydney contributed to this report.
16 responses to “FAA warns airline passengers not to use Samsung smartphone”
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Yet another reason why I dislike Samsung.
Who made the battery? The battery maker is the one who screwed up. But Samsung should have tested the batteries. Word around the dorms at UH is that one caught fire there.
Batteries were formerly farmed out but to increase their bottom line decided to manufacture it in-house. Foolish move as lithium batteries have many manufacturing problems and lacking research background they took a bigger bite than they are capable of handling
Yes, HRS134, and so many more reasons to dislike Apple. So many problems, and often they refuse to do anything right away. The nerve of them. I recall a huge recall of Apple MacBook Pro computers, Apple Pill XL Speakers, Apple World Travel Adapter Kits, Apple AC Wall Adapters–more than a decade’s worth of power adapters due to extreme fire risk in the latter case. Gosh, Apple’s had problems over the years with their Mac PowerBooks, too. And remember back in 2006 they recalled almost 2 MILLION batteries alone just for one model, and that was a lot for them considering back then the company sucked and was less than 4% of the computer market. Yep, I’m glad that I have a Samsung product.
Um…isn’t it a Samsung product that it at fault in this story? Just saying Apple hater.
Bad headline AGAIN. Not all SamSung phones just the Note 7. Bozo S.A. and it’s foolish crew.
Of course. This news comes at the release of the “new” iPhone 7.
Oh, another Apple hating troll. Or is it conspiracy. Wait, its your tin foil hates. You clowns make me laugh.
Oh my!! What’s a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone owner to do??? Don’t expect them to leave their phones at home in this day and age!!
What to do? Buy the new iPhone! LOL
When they go out carrying their Galaxy Note 7, they need to bring a fire extinguisher with them.
Scrupulous war of technological devises among the major companies?
How much did Apple pay the feds for this bit of perfectly timed news?
These type of cell phones should not be allowed on any public – commercial airline flights. Why risk the passenger safety?
Samsung is a bleeding edge company; they are strong in terms of adding new features and functions to their phones. Unfortunately, this strength does not apply to their material quality, manufacturing processes and overall Quality Control (QC). I bought a Samsung Galaxy once via eBay from a respectable, highly rated seller, however, my phone was DOA (dead on arrival). I did receive a refund but wasted a lot of time and since then have never purchased another Samsung product. I also previously purchased a Samsung home sound system that integrated with my large screen. That also failed shortly after the warranty expired. I’ve never been impressed with Samsung’s QC.
Seems early on Samsung did a lot of copying from Apple’s original Iphone design and technology. I think Apple sued Samsung for patent infringement and won but Samsung had to reach a certain level by copying before creating new features and functions on their own. Samsung but will survive but probably take many hundred million dollar loss between the recall and lost sales. Apple’s Iphone 7 should become even more desirable however I think Apple is running into supply problems for their new Iphone 7. The fire starting Galaxy Note 7 probably had something to do with that.