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Airline, FAA & Apple investigate as iPhone 6 catches fire on Alaska Airlines flight to Hawaii

abcNews reports that an iPhone 6 caught fire on a flight to Hawaii as the aircraft was around 90 minutes away from its landing in Honolulu.

The phone was owned by a college student who reported it in rather hysterical terms, claiming 8-inch flames and stating that she thought the plane was ‘going down,’ but Alaska Air and the FAA have confirmed that the incident itself did take place.

The Alaska Air spokesman told ABC News, “The fire was quickly extinguished by our flight attendants, who are trained for situations like these.”

There were no injuries or damage and the plane continued to Honolulu, an FAA spokesman told ABC News.

One of the two photos shows a charging cable in shot.

It’s not clear whether the iPhone was being charged at the time, nor whether the cable is a genuine Apple or aftermarket one. Other fires have usually been attributed to aftermarket chargers, though an iPhone 5c did catch fire in the pocket of a 14-year-old schoolgirl back in 2014, causing second-degree burns. An iPhone 5s also caught fire shortly afterwards while reportedly not connected to a charger.

Both the airline and the FAA are investigating. Apple says that it has been in touch with the airline and the family, and is also looking into the incident.

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Comments

  1. Another possibility would be a third-party screen or battery replacement. Of course, 90-min from Honolulu, not sure where the plane could have gone to anyway…not much land out that way…must have not been a great hour and half with the smell of the phone.

  2. 89p13 - 8 years ago

    That is one toasty-looking iPhone!

  3. AeronPeryton - 8 years ago

    Now this is an iPhone Apple is eager to crack open and inspect.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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