Regional Express (Rex) flight ZL319 operating from Lismore to Sydney today had an occurrence after landing, when a passenger’s mobile phone started emitting a significant amount of dense smoke, accompanied by a red glow.
In accordance with company standard safety procedures, the Flight Attendant carried out recovery actions immediately and the red glow was extinguished successfully.
All passengers and crew on board were unharmed.
The matter has been reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) as well as the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) for investigation and directions.
The mobile phone in question appears to be an Apple iPhone (see picture below) and has been handed over to ATSB for analysis.
Regional Express (Rex) is Australia’s largest independent regional airline operating a fleet of more than 40 Saab 340 aircraft on some 1,300 weekly flights to 36 destinations throughout New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Queensland. The Rex Group comprises Regional Express, air freight and charter operator Pel-Air Aviation and Dubbo-based regional airline Air Link, as well as the pilot academy Australian Airline Pilot Academy.
MacDailyNews Take: Couldn’t wait a few more minutes until it got to the gate? Hey, just because it didn’t see the “No Smoking” signs is no reason to smash it! Or was it smashed before it started smoking? Getting smashed has sometimes been known to provoke smoking, you know.
Tens of millions of iPhone 4 units have been sold. Do the math.
I just heard a thousand hard core Wintards, RIMroids, Hemroids frantically searching the web for any details about this. Get ready for ridiculous articles and postings from them and their affiliates. Here we go!
ABC and everyone else’s headline is “iPhone Explodes on Plane”…;)
yeah they don’t ever bother to read, ever.
the plane had already landed when this “happened”
the article I posted below (another post) you should read the crap the Giz guys (and fandroids) say about the glass breaking, completely skipping over the fact the idiot dropped the iPhone in the first place.. Dangling from a earbud, onto concrete and curbs. then blames Apple for the Glass…
Any word of prior damage to the iPhone?
Battery…by Samsung
interesting that this happened is Australia, where Samsung and Apple were (are) in battles.
Has it been confirmed authentic? Could be a counterfeit.
Here is one of the source articles:
http://www.bgr.com/2011/11/28/apple-iphone-spontaneously-combusts-aboard-flight-in-australia/
It includes a press release from Regional Express, which is what MDN is directly quoting from above. IOW: It’s verified.
see what I don’t get, if it was on fire… why is the back cracked?
Sure I see the back where it looks to have been hot..
But that crack.. looks like from an impact.
Radiates outward from the edge that is missing, sure looks like an impact on the bottom left corner.
Granted, the cracks could be from after the “fire”. like when he dropped it when his hand got hot etc.
I know… it’s from “that” site….
http://gizmodo.com/5572227/fuuuuuu-gizmodos-first-accidentally-dropped-iphone
Check out the gallery, picture 3 and 4… Looks a lot like the cracks in the one above. (and we know this Giz iPhone was dropped)
When Siri asks if the case makes her look fat, ALWAYS tell her “No”…
So funny.
Hehe! Funniest damn line I have ever seen in MDN. You win a box of cheap cigars, a blown-up
IPhone and a date with Siri.
THAT is a classic line– I am not worthy 😉
I’m with the other parents here.
“Absolutely NO smoking until you are iPhone 18 and have your OWN case…!!!”
The second question (MDN’s would be the first), should be:
Was it jailbroken?
Assuming everything is true, iPhone started smoking with no outside help (liquids)
Jailbreaking the phone should have zero problems with hardware. I haven’t read the article yet, but if it’s a 4S there is no jailbreak yet.
I’m leaning towards liquid or it was dropped prior. Guy looking for apple to buy him a new one. (or the carrier)
Or the guy has opened the iPhone in the past, replace screen or home button etc.
Fear! Uncertainty! Doubt! Scary… Everybody run!!!
Thank you for not smoking.
If the back was smashed , then there’s a good chance the battery in that phone got punctured. Which would cause those exact symptoms.
Australia, huh? How much did Samsung pay to stage this?
REX planes are 20 and change passenger small prop planes.. I flew in a couple getting around australia. One particular flight, we flew around a massive storm at night off the coast of Adelaide.. was utterly amazing despite the turbulence.
Good thing it wasn’t an iPhone 4S or they’d say the “S” stands for Smoke.
Just one of those things. Stuff happens with electronics. Now, if it starts happening every week…
——RM
Maybe Siri doesn’t like being down under …
iPhone are not 100% made by Apple so there’s nothing to be proud of. Thanks to Samsung etc for making iPhone a success…..
We told ya that the iPhone is the hottest damn smartphone on the planet.
Steve Jobs Apple logo anyone? it’s clear to me that looking at the phone more closely you can clearly see the back was tampered with unless Apple changed its logo….
now that you mention it.. I see it.
I pulled the image from BGR, and blew it up… yep, exactly what it looks like.
i’m sure it’s been tampered with, or dropped. or both.
the fire is a secondary issue.
Yeah noticed the Steve Jobs Apple Logo myself…. Phone was definitely modified previous to this ‘incident’. Regardless these things happen… move on……
Well spotted on the logo. Phone’s obviously been tampered with, if indeed it’s a genuine iPhone, and not a knock-off. Replacing the back could have compromised the battery in some way, and it’s clearly the battery that’s gone on the fritz.
I said “put the SHRIMP on the barbie, you dolt!”
Lismore, where this originated is near a town called Nimbin.
Nimbin is a bit like Humbolt County. sic. Dope Central. Best hydro in the country.. so my neighbour says.
I’d like to now what that damn hippy phone was smoking.. before it took off.
Oh BobB. despite THAT ad, we call them prawns, not shrimp here. It’s what I’m having for Christmas dinner. I live by a beach not far from Nimbin..
Oh wow. Then you know all about the MardiGrass at the End of the Universe! How was it?
http://www.nimbinmardigrass.com/2012/
I wonder if this iPhone was smoking a cigar or a cigarette.