A JetBlue Airways Airbus 320 made an emergency landing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Tuesday after a laptop computer stored in an overhead began emitting smoke. The flight landed safely with no injuries.
Passengers told news outlets that the incident caused significant smoke in the cabin, although none reported signs of flames. The flight was enroute from New York’s JFK to San Francisco when it diverted to Grand Rapids. After the aircraft was inspected, passengers continued on to San Francisco.
The incident adds to a list of battery smoke or fire incidents on aircraft, according to the FAA. As of this week, 160 incidents involving smoke or fire with lithium batteries have been reported since 1991. These have involved computers, e-cigarettes, power tools and chargers. The FAA says its list doesn’t necessarily cover all the incidents that have been reported or have occurred.
The JetBlue incident comes as the U.S. is discussing banning laptops entirely from the cabins of U.S.-bound flight originating in Europe. Computers are already banned from 50 named cities, most of them in Africa or the Middle East.
