Passenger’s cell phone ignites fire on plane forcing emergency evacuation

Passengers were forced to evacuate an Alaska Airlines flight from New Orleans upon landing in Seattle Monday night after a person’s cell phone caught fire onboard the aircraft, authorities said.

a large air plane flying in the sky: An Alaska Airlines jet passes the air traffic control tower at LAX.

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Seattle firefighters responded to the runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for a report of flames spotted in the cargo hold of Flight 751 around 8:30 p.m., KIRO reported.

This short video shows an AlaskaAirlines flight attendant running to put the fire out. Passenger tells me several fire extinguishers were used. 128 passengers & 6 crew members were on board. Evacuation slides were deployed to get passengers off and onto the tarmac. @KIRO7Seattle pic.twitter.com/HwKJymsyNd
— Kevin Ko (@NewsWithKevin) August 24, 2021

Video recorded by passengers appeared to show a flight attendant running to put the flames out with a fire extinguisher shortly after the plane landed. Several people thanked flight attendants quick thinking for keeping them safe.

Early clues revealed a passenger’s phone had caught fire, said Alaska Air.

Fire officials said they used a “battery containment bag” to extinguish the fire.

Passenger sent @KIRO7Seattle this video following the plane evacuation. Per @flySEA: “Passengers were transported by bus to the terminal, some with minor injuries.” Passenger credits flight attendants for acting fast throughout the entire incident. pic.twitter.com/y0UGMVP73w
— Kevin Ko (@NewsWithKevin) August 24, 2021

In all, there were 134 passengers and crew members aboard the jet. They were forced to evacuate using inflatable slides and were bused to a terminal while the plane was towed to a gate.

Officials said some of the passengers had “minor scrapes and bruises,” as a result of the emergency evacuation.

Earlier this evening, POSFD responded to a report of a fire in the cargo hold of Alaska Airlines Flight 751. Upon arrival, the fire was contained and passengers and crew were evacuated from the aircraft. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/rY2cFgrmUH
— Seattle-Tacoma Intl. Airport (@flySEA) August 24, 2021

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