Replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Catches Fire While on an Airplane

BY Evan Selleck

Published 5 Oct 2016

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

Sales of the Galaxy Note 7 have restarted in some places, while other regions are still waiting for a few more days before kicking things into motion again.

With the recall of the Galaxy Note 7 in the history books, Samsung has been hoping to move forward, thanks to replacement devices that should feature non-faulty batteries under the hood. Samsung even outlined how owners would be able to tell that their new Galaxy Note 7 had a new battery: a green battery indicator, and a black square imprinted on the box itself.

Unfortunately, a replacement Galaxy Note 7 has caught fire while on a Southwest airline, forcing those on board to evacuate. As reported by The Verge, a flight from Louisville to Baltimore, Maryland, was evacuated when a Galaxy Note 7 caught fire. The flight hadn’t left the gate yet, thankfully, and no injuries were reported.

The report states that the owner of the phone, Brian Green, picked up his replacement Galaxy Note 7 on September 21, through the carrier AT&T. Green confirmed that his unit was a replacement with a picture of the box, which includes the black square in place. He also said his phone had a green battery icon as well.

galaxy-note-7-sw-replacement

Green’s report indicates he shut off the phone as was instructed by the onboard attendants, and put it into his pocket. However, he was forced to pull it out when it began smoking. He threw it on the ground, and even more “thick grey-green angry smoke” poured out. When a colleague of Green’s went back on board to fetch some personal belongings, he told Green that the phone had burned through not only the carpet, but also burnt the subfloor of the plane itself.

Green noted that he has only ever used a wireless charger with the device, and that at the time of the incident the phone was at 80 percent charge level. The phone is currently in detainment from the Louisville Fire Department. Green has since transitioned to an iPhone 7.

[via The Verge]