Samsung Electronics continues to work through its voluntary recall of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has already ordered a probe, and has summoned Samsung officials on Monday.
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Regulators and airlines in several countries, including the United States and China, have issued warnings to air travellers to keep Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones turned off and unplugged during flights.
The fire was reported inside the IndiGo aircraft coming from Singapore at the Chennai airport.
The crew quickly identified minor smoke coming from the hat-rack of seat 23 c and simultaneously informed the pilot-in-command. There was no fire observed but sparks were observed.
The flight crew had to use a fire extinguisher on the phone and placed it in a container filled with water.
The regulator described the incident as a suspected fire but the airline said there had been no fire.
Apparently, the phone was stored in the overhead bin at the time of the incident, but after passengers and crew members smelled and subsequently saw the smoke emanating from the storage compartment, the device was quickly removed. According to PTI, the latter is going to issue a fresh advisory regarding its products and has asked airlines to counsel passengers to switch off their Note handset while on a flight. “The phone was kept in the overhead bin”. The Ministry has advised airlines and travelling public not to turn on or charge the said mobile during flights.
Samsung has now announced that approximately half of all recalled Galaxy Note 7s in the USA have been exchanged for new devices.
The notice further detailed that the smartphone should not be stowed away in any checked-in baggage.
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Reacting to the incident, a Samsung spokesperson said, “We are aware of an incident involving one of our devices. At Samsung, customer safety is our highest priority”, a spokesperson for Samsung India said in a statement emailed to Mashable India.
