The passengers and crew of an EasyJet flight had to quickly leave their aircraft when a lithium fire broke out before the flight’s departure.
This incident took place on Tuesday, the 17th of September, involving EasyJet flight U2-8216, departing from Heraklion International Airport (LGIR) in Crete, Greece. The flight’s destination is London Gatwick Airport (EGKK). EasyJet performs this flight six times per week.
On the day of this lithium battery incident, the EasyJet flight reportedly had 236 passengers on board. According to local media, the passengers had boarded the flight when a handbag with two electronic devices started emitting smoke. These devices were a power bank and an e-cigarette.
The event reportedly led to a small explosion, powerful enough for nearby passengers to have to move away, eventually leaving the aircraft. However, at this time, it is not clear if the lithium fire caused an evacuation with slides or if the EasyJet aircraft still had its doors open and airstairs attached.
EasyJet Flight at Heraklion: Lithium Battery Runaway Event Ends Safely
There were no injuries to the aircraft’s passengers and crew. Local reports stated that during the lithium battery incident, the EasyJet aircraft was close to the airport’s fire department, whose vehicles approached the aircraft quickly.
At this time, the incident aircraft, an Airbus A321neo, is still on the ground in Heraklion. This is a five-and-a-half-year-old aircraft with tail number G-UZME. Its owner is ICBC Leasing. The flight’s passengers took off with a nine-hour delay on a different Airbus A321neo, with registration G-UZMC.
Lithium battery smoke and fire events, like the one on this EasyJet flight, aren’t rare. Many devices with such batteries are prone to suffer such failures, particularly after impacts strong enough to deform them.
In airliners, the commotion and many dropped and bumped items during boarding or disembarking have caused many such events. In flight, sometimes phones slip into the mechanisms of business class or first class seats and combust when someone moves the seat electrically.
The training of cabin crews includes the use of special bags that can contain batteries undergoing a thermal runaway, and quickly accessing any seat mechanisms and other areas where such devices may get into.
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