A passenger’s laptop caught fire on an American Airlines flight on Friday, and the pilot reported that some passengers may have been burned, according to air traffic control audio. A passenger was treated and released after American Airlines Flight 2398 landed at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, the airport said in a statement. “Fire in the cockpit in the back of the plane,” the pilot says in air traffic control audio obtained by CBS News. “The stewards are trying to turn it off now.” The flight, which originated in Atlanta, had 133 people on board, the pilot told air traffic controllers. Flight attendants on board contained the fire with a thermal containment bag and the flight landed around 6:55 p.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The FAA is investigating. Jessica Irgens, a passenger on board, told CBS News that the fire occurred about 30 minutes before the end of the flight. Irgens said another passenger’s laptop started smoking and caught fire, filling the plane with smoke. Irgens said she was sitting two rows from the fire and ran to the back of the plane because of the heavy smoke. The owner placed the burning laptop in the hallway, and one or two passengers who tried to help burned their hands, Irgens said. On the flight they were able to seal the laptop in a thermal bag in about five minutes. “I think we have between four and five passengers who were burned by the laptop,” the pilot said in the air traffic control audio. “The laptop is contained in the air.” “American Airlines Flight 2398 landed safely in DFW after reports of smoke from a customer’s device during landing,” American Airlines said in a statement. “We thank our crew for their professionalism and quick response to quickly contain the device.” Lithium batteries used in devices such as laptops and cell phones can pose risks on flights due to overheating, according to the FAA, due to a process known as “thermal runaway.” “Thermal runaway can occur without warning as a result of several factors, including if the battery is damaged, overheated, exposed to water, overcharged, or improperly packaged,” the FAA says in an advisory. The FAA has size limits on lithium batteries in flights because of those risks. So far this year, at least 56 incidents involving lithium batteries on flights involving smoke, fire or overheating have been reported, according to FAA data. In February, an Alaska Airlines flight bound for Wichita, Kansas, was forced to return to Seattle, Washington, after a passenger’s portable device overheated and caught fire. More from CBS News Go deeper with The Free Press in:
