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Wheelchair on plane explodes on landing
Having the battery of an electronic item you take on board a flight, short-circuit and then burst into flames, doesn't even come to your mind when you think about plane accidents. Earlier this month, a wheelchair stored in the hold of a Boeing 727-200 First Choice flight carrying 229 passengers, let out blue sparks while being offloaded from the plane. The minute it was placed on a vehicle to be transported at Manchester Airport, it caught fire and exploded. Luckily, no one was injured. Thank goodness it didn't happen on the plane. A similar incident happened in February last year, where a fire started aboard a plane because a camera battery short-circuited while in the overhead compartment.
The articles about this incident talk about passengers needing to be more vigilant when taking items on board. True, but I also think it's the ground staff's responsibility to fiercely spread awareness of things like this, and make their check-in and boarding procedures more stringent. Although the exact cause of the accident has not yet been found, assuming it was a short-circuit, it could have been avoided by making sure the battery was fixed properly and that there was no way for it to switch on automatically while in storage.
Talking about seemingly innocuous items causing serious damage on an aircrafts, you can't help but think of mobile phones. Although told a million times, I still know people who do not switch their phones off on a flight, even if they don't use them. They forget, or don't realize the importance of doing so. I haven't heard of any planes crashing or catching fire due to a mobile phone, but if it can happen with a camera and a wheelchair, I imagine that things can happen with a mobile phone.
How can airlines be stricter? Perhaps when baggage is being screened, they should ask passengers to remove batteries from all electronic devices. But then you can't be assured that the passenger won't put the battery right back in. Other than spreading awareness through publicity, what's the solution? Rely on the passenger's consciousness?
Filed under: Airlines, Transportation, Airports, News
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Secret Asian Man Sep 24th 2008 12:06PM
This is an isolated, freak accident.
As long as you unplug the battery from the motor, you're good to go. There really shouldn't be any arcing at all. The metal contacts are never exposed to anything else as the entire battery should be inside a plastic casing and closed shut.
I should know. I fly with an electric wheelchair all the time.
Willy Sep 25th 2008 8:24AM
"As long as you unplug the battery from the motor, you're good to go." Not necessarily true. This battery obviously had a defect, and I imagine one possibility (Yes, even if it was disconnected) is that the change in pressure (and there is ALWAYS a change in pressure, even in the pressurized areas of the plane) caused the battery case to expand , then contract when they came back down. This compression exposed a defect that caused the short. This is why if you ship hazardous materials (like batteries) they need to be correctly labeled, so everyone knows what's in there.
Moody75 Sep 24th 2008 3:22PM
"I still know people who do not switch their phones off on a flight, even if they don't use them."
You mentioned the example of a battery in a camera in an overhead compartment. Surely the camera was not being used at the time. So, how would switching a mobile phone "off" make it any safer?
Casey Sep 25th 2008 7:12AM
The airlines also need to crack down on carry on baggage. On a flight last weekend, one passenger dragged three bags on board with him... probably to save the $15 checked baggage fee. The fill up the overhead bins and then try to stuff their bags under other passenger's seats!
FlyingPig34 Sep 25th 2008 7:37AM
"Moody75 said...
You mentioned the example of a battery in a camera in an overhead compartment. Surely the camera was not being used at the time. So, how would switching a mobile phone "off" make it any safer?"
I had a camera that would often turn itself on within the case. I would go to take it out of its case, and it was on, with the battery almost out. The on button on the camera was pretty sensitive. Perhaps that is what happened in that incident.
barbara Sep 25th 2008 7:57AM
My husband is in a wheelchair and recently on a trip his chair was returned to him broken. The baggage handlers have no respect for other peoples property and just toss things artound. I know this because the same flight my grandsons stroller was returend to me witht he wheel busted off.
ruth Sep 25th 2008 7:59AM
Isolated accident that could have been prevented by unplugging the battery.
Does this tell you that the personel is not trained to handle the storing or care of handicapped chairs.
Just think of the owner of the chair his mobelity was destoried.
Elic Sep 25th 2008 8:24AM
Besides - you can't take a battery out of an iPhone
rain Sep 26th 2008 6:54AM
I remember once I had forgotten to turn off my phone before a flight and when we landed and I went to turn it on something had happened midflight that fried the screen. Verizon said they had never heard anything like that before but it makes me wonder if something had happened with the battery because after that the battery would get HOT while in use or on the charger.
JJ Sep 25th 2008 9:13AM
The battery removed from equipment is even more dangerous. You throw one of those into a womans purse you stand a good chance to short out the battery on a nail file, nail clippers etc. Leave it in where it was designed to be. These shorts cited are rare. Don't make them common
ladyjunkmail Sep 25th 2008 10:45AM
Not to sound dumb or anything, but since I don't fly anymore (terrified of it for some reason, sorry), don't the airlines make people give them the metal nail files and clippers these days? If so, then a woman wouldn't have them in her purse, therefore they wouldn't be able to strike a battery. I might understand a metal lipstick holder, or some kind of metallic eye pencil stick or something, but clippers and files, from what I understood, were verboten these days. Am I wrong in believing this?
Bill Over Sep 25th 2008 9:28AM
Mr Malpani and others need to do more homework.
In the US, the FAA requires the battery be REMOVED from the wheel chair if the chair is stored below decks; because most chairs are laid on their sides folded up.
BTW: I'm not sure any Boeing 727 holds 229 pax.
Malpani may have his aircraft types mixed up also.
rampman Sep 25th 2008 9:56AM
Depends on what kind of battery was on the wheelchair. 99% of chairs/scooters today have sealed batteries. If the chair can be loaded and left upright in the bin, it is only cut off with the switch. If it can not be loaded upright (very rare, as bags would be left off just to make sure it can be stored upright) the battery container is removed. A chair with a wet-cell battery has to have the battery removed, all connections clearly marked and then the battery is put into a special bag and then into a special box. The risk of fire is bad enough but the real concern is aircraft aluminum and battery acid are a really bad match. Causes structural problems and poisonous fumes. They should be really careful as the airline is on the hook for all damages to a wheelchair, up to and including full replacement, whatever the cost.
John Gilbert Sep 25th 2008 9:59AM
Myth Busers prooved once and for all that cell phones in no way interfere with navagational equipment
Char Sep 25th 2008 12:08PM
Kind of makes you wonder if this isn't a terrorist failed attempt to make a bomb. You have to consider every single thing taken on a plane these days.
Jan Sep 25th 2008 10:21AM
The problem I see with this article & the insistance that there need to be stricter guidelines is that you can't refuse to let someone who requires an electric wheelchair the right to ride on a plane. How much do these people really know about electric wheelchairs? (BTW, the picture they used in the article does not show a wheelchair even similar to the type of wheelchair that caused this problem....it was electric, not a manual wheelchair). The batteries on electric wheelchairs aren't easy to maneuver--in fact they're typically 300-600lbs. Not light! There may have been a defect, but that does not mean they need to restrict those types of batteries from going on planes. The people who bring them onto a plane NEED them. It's not an optional thing like a cell phone or camera.
steven Sep 25th 2008 10:21AM
I've had many a pilot tell me they're not completely sure cell phones don't interfere with navigational equipment. So, as a group they, and any passenger concerned with safety don't want cell phone use on flights. As an aside, the LAST thing I want is to sit in the middle seat between 2 self-important #&^@**&$ yapping on their cell phones for 2 hours. Talk about air rage! That would be justifiable homicide! Anyway, phones have been available on aircraft for 25 years but they were an abject failure. Why? Because at $6.95 to turn on and $6.95 a minute thereafter, those stupid conversations seem to lose their importance! No wonder 80% of the world is on Prozak. Everyone thinks they have to WORK 24/7. Take the time to relax and look out the window, enjoy life, read a light book. Believe me, when you drop dead, some one else will be doing your job better before you're cold. The world and your job will continue to revolve. No one else thinks you're as important as you do. Relax. Life is hectic enough at the airport, don't contribute to the craziness.
lajoyamismaloya Sep 25th 2008 11:06AM
Steven you are so right, those are my sentiments
exactly, people take themselves and their little world
much to seriously, we will survive without cell phones etc.
Lajoya
RAMP AGENT Sep 25th 2008 10:43AM
INCORRECT SIR, ALL ELECTRIC WHEELCHAIRS ARE LOADED IN THE UPRIGHT POSTION,TO AVOID DAMAGE.EVEN FOLDING WHEELCHAIR ARE LOADED IN THE UP RIGHT POSTION WITH BRAKES LOCKED.FAA REGULATIONS!
fred taylor Sep 25th 2008 10:59AM
Batteries can short circuit at anytime plugged or unplugged although rarely does this happen. Airlines chould confiscate any electronic equipment or just the batteries, tag them and place them in a fireproof safe and return them after landing.
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