Passengers of an IndiGo Thiruvananthapuram to Bengaluru flight went through a scary situation when a laptop caught fire mid-flight.
Passengers aboard 6E-445 (VT-IGV) reported a burning smell which was coming from one of the bags. Aircrew instantly sprayed fire extinguishers and relocated the passengers sitting nearby the bag. As a caution, the crew kept the laptop in a container filled with water till the plane landed, according to a report in The Times of India.
“IndiGo crew operating flight 6E-445 from Thiruvananthapuram to Bengaluru noticed the smoke smell in the cabin on November 11, 2017. The crew quickly identified minor sparks coming from the hat-rack of seat 24RH and immediately informed the pilot-in-command. Taking precautionary measures, the cabin crew on priority relocated all passengers from adjacent seats,” the report quoted an IndiGo spokesperson.
The spokesperson informed that the flight had a normal landing and passengers were debarked as per procedure. The airline thanked the passengers for their cooperation. The airline has informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) about the incident.
This is not the first case of electronic equipment catching fire on board a flight. Last month, a mobile phone caught fire mid-air on Delhi-Indore flights of another airline.
The aviation regulator had put a standard operating procedure some years back and crews are now trained to handle such situation accordingly. The body is also considering using a fireproof bag to store such equipment which catches fire during the flight as a safety measure, especially for long-haul flights.
Many international aviation agencies are considering banning personal electronic devices in Check in bags.
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