In a bizarre turn of events, a Lufthansa flight from Los Angeles to Munich had to make an unexpected landing in Boston — all because of an iPad.
The incident happened on April 23 aboard Lufthansa Flight LH453, an Airbus A380 carrying 461 passengers. According to Simply Flying, a business class passenger accidentally dropped his tablet into the structure of their seat. The problem? The tablet got stuck and couldn't be retrieved.
While that might not sound like a big deal at first, it raised serious safety concerns. Devices like iPads use lithium-ion batteries, which can overheat if damaged — and that can lead to fires onboard. Not wanting to take any chances, the pilots, in coordination with air traffic control, decided to divert the plane to Boston as a precaution.
At the time of the diversion, the aircraft was cruising at 35,000 feet, about 300 nautical miles northwest of Winnipeg, Canada. Even though Boston was still around three hours away, the crew thought it was the safest option.
]Once they landed at Logan International Airport, technicians from Lufthansa inspected the tablet, which already showed signs of damage from being stuck in the seat’s mechanism. Fortunately, there was no fire or injury. After a 90-minute stop, the plane was cleared to continue its journey to Munich.
However, the diversion meant the flight landed several hours later than scheduled. Lufthansa later said, "The safety of our passengers and crew is always our top priority," and stressed that the emergency landing was a precautionary move.
The Airbus A380 that operated the flight typically carries more than 500 people and runs daily between Los Angeles and Munich. Despite the delay, all passengers eventually made it safely to their destination.
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