KLM B772 near Phuket on May 9th 2018, thermal runaway of passenger's mobile phone

Last Update: December 16, 2019 / 15:28:58 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 9, 2018

Classification
Incident

Airline
KLM

Flight number
KL-809

Departure
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Destination
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Aircraft Registration
PH-BQB

Aircraft Type
Boeing 777-200

ICAO Type Designator
B772

A KLM Boeing 777-200, registration PH-BQB performing flight KL-809 (dep May 8th) from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), was enroute at FL390 about 100nm northwest of Phuket (Thailand) when the crew decided to divert to Phuket due to a passenger's mobile phone overheating and emitting a lot of smoke. The aircraft landed safely in Phuket about 20 minutes later.

The airline reported: "Flight KL 809 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur made a stopover in Phuket, Thailand. Smoke accumulated in the cabin when a passenger's mobile phone overheated. The crew handled the situation well and the captain opted to land the aircraft as a precautionary measure. The aircraft landed safely and at no time were passengers or crew in danger. A safety check has since been carried out in the cabin and the aircraft has been released for departure. Owing to compulsory crew work and rest times, the flight to Kuala Lumpur cannot continue immediately and passengers and crew are being accommodated in hotels in Phuket. As a result, the flight has incurred an 18-hour delay. The onward flight to Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta- Kuala Lumpur has been cancelled. KLM regrets the inconvenience this is causing our passengers."

On Dec 16th 2019 the Dutch Onderzoeksraad (DSB) reported a passenger in the business class had been asleep, woke up and put his seat into the upright position, which crushed his mobile phone which as result suffered a thermal runaway of the Lithium Ion battery, a signficant amount of smoke was released concentrated in a small portion of the cabin, which was separated by curtains. Cabin crew used halon fire extinguishers and about 10-20 liters of water to stop the smoke development and reduce the risk of fire. Initially cabin crew could not move the phone out of the seat, the use of a fire axe and a change of seat position finally permitted to extract the phone from the seat. The crew subsequently secured the phone in a contained filled with water and placed into the aft galley as "dangerous goods". None of the crew had used oxygen masks or protective gloves. Two cabin crew reported irritations in the respiratory tract as well as the eyes. Two other flight attendants received minor injuries to their hands. The captain decided to divert to Phuket due to concerns over the quantity of water used to extinguish the thermal runway and the possibility the seat was still smoldering. The occurrence was rated a serious incident and is being investigated.
Aircraft Registration Data
Registration mark
PH-BQB
Country of Registration
Netherlands
Date of Registration
Jgjg icjfAgjiqnq Subscribe to unlock
Airworthyness Category
Acdqnil Subscribe to unlock
Legal Basis
qnc Subscribe to unlock
Manufacturer
The Boeing Company
Aircraft Model / Type
777-200
ICAO Aircraft Type
B772
Year of Manufacture
Ddlk Subscribe to unlock
Serial Number
njfe Subscribe to unlock
Aircraft Address / Mode S Code (HEX)
Jnbhlm Subscribe to unlock
Maximum Take off Mass (MTOM) [kg]
Hni ej Subscribe to unlock
Engine Count
C Subscribe to unlock
Engine
Jqjjkcncnpqliccme cblfqijdckjcjdhljblckipqlgp Subscribe to unlock
Engine Type
AAdblfpqj Subscribe to unlock
Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 9, 2018

Classification
Incident

Airline
KLM

Flight number
KL-809

Departure
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Destination
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Aircraft Registration
PH-BQB

Aircraft Type
Boeing 777-200

ICAO Type Designator
B772

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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