A JetBlue Airways plane was forced to land at Gerald R. Ford International Airport (Grand Rapids, Michigan) Tuesday evening after reports that a lithium battery on board caught fire.
There were reports of smoke emitting from a carry-on bag holding an electronic device.
Ford Airport said airport fire crews responded, but that the fire was out before the plane landed safely around 8 p.m.
None of the 158 people on board were injured
The statement from JetBlue:
“On May 30 JetBlue flight 915 from New York’s JFK to San Francisco diverted to Grand Rapids, Mich., following reports of smoke emitting from a carry-on bag holding an electronic device. The flight landed safely and the aircraft is being inspected by maintenance crews before customers continue on to San Francisco.”
Had this happened with the device in the cargo hold, there is a good chance it would not have had a happy ending.
Before we go and ban laptops, etc, from the cabin and require them to be checked, the government and airlines better figure out how to prevent this from happening.
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