Five passengers injured as laptop suddenly catches fire in cabin mid-flight on packed American Airlines plane

NewsWorld News FIVE people have suffered burns after a laptop burst into flames inside the cabin on a crowded American Airlines flight. Passengers were injured after a device caught fire shortly before landing on a flight from Atlanta, Georgia, to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in Texas. A battery exploded on an American Airlines flight Credit: Reuters The plane safely landed at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Credit: Getty It is understood the laptop burst into flames inside the cabin at the rear of the plane on Friday. There were 133 passengers on board at the time. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! In audio obtained by CBS News, the pilot can be heard reporting the incident to air traffic control. He said: “Cabin fire in the back of the airplane. “The flight attendants are trying to put it out now.” “I think we have about four to five passengers that were burned by the laptop.” The plane made a safe landing and emergency workers were waiting on the ground to care for the passengers, with one requiring medical attention, BBC reported. According to CBS, American Airlines said: “American Airlines flight 2398 landed safely at DFW after reports of smoke from a customer’s device during landing. Most read in The Sun “We thank our crew for their professionalism and swift response to quickly contain the device.” The FAA warns that laptop and phone lithium batteries risk dangerous overheating on flights through “thermal runaway.” They said: “Thermal runaway can occur without warning as a result of various factors, including if the battery is damaged, overheated, exposed to water, overcharged, or improperly packed.” There are size limits for lithium batteries on flights because of those risks. This year, there have been at least 56 lithium battery incidents reported on flights that involved smoke, fire or overheating, according to FAA. It comes as American Airlines narrowly avoided a mid-air collision after two planes were were unknowingly cruising under identical flight numbers. The error meant the two planes were on course to crash into each other. The impending crisis was scarcely averted after one eagle-eyed air traffic controller spotted the mix-up and leapt into action. In a statement to The Sun, American Airlines said: “We are reviewing ​the ​details ​related ​to ​two American ​flights with the same ​call sign near ​Phoenix ​(PHX) ​around ​midnight ​on Aug. 14. “The diligence ​and professionalism ​of air ​traffic controllers ​and our ​pilots ​ensured ​required separation was always maintained ​and the ​issue ​was ​identified and ​addressed. “Both flights ​continued safely and ​without incident.” Comment now