Cabin crew had to use fire extinguishers after flames erupted in the cabin
A British Airways (BA) flight from London to Las Vegas had a lucky escape after a fire on board. BA Flight 271 was reportedly about to start its descent into Harry Reid International Airport from Heathrow on Monday (June 15) when the drama occurred.
A man claiming to be a passenger on the flight said that some passengers fled for safety while others rushed to try and put it out after flames erupted from a window seat on row 37. Flight attendants dashed to the area with fire extinguishers to put out the blaze.
Cabin crew apparently had to repeatedly ask passengers to move to give them access to the fire. The flight landed safely at Las Vegas, with no injuries reported.
Audio of the incident captures the pilot coolly telling the airport at Las Vegas about the incident. The pilot says: “Speedbird Vegas 271, we’re currently on an emergency arrival into Las Vegas. We’ve had a fire in the cabin. It was a mobile phone that caught. Has scorched the inside of the cabin. It’s under control currently.
“We’re landing in five minutes. Will be taxiing as expeditiously to the gate as we can. Ee have got wheelchair carry-off aboard, so we are requesting maximum assistance once we get onto stand. Understand Echo 1, if you could confirm that, please.”
An American voice then responds: “Speedbird 271, you’ll be going to Echo 3 today. Have you passed this information to the tower here?”
The pilot answers: “Yeah, tower’s aware. Echo 3’s copied. So, once we get to stand, if you could have, please, all the personnel that you have available to help us deplane the aircraft in an orderly manner. We’re trying to keep the panic to a minimum in the cabin. Obviously, we’ll just get people off, keep them moving, but please have wheelchairs ready to go.”
The American voice answers: “Speedbird 271, Roger. Expect maximum assistance as requested.”
The man claiming to be a witness said: “(I) had been sitting two seats to the left of the fire on the row in front. (I) was told by a member of the cabin crew that they had trained for this eventuality but that the fire seemed to happen much faster than expected. This member of the crew said a battery had been repeatedly igniting.
“Another member of the crew said they at first thought the hubbub in the plane was some form of celebration before it immediately became apparent there was a fire.”
CBS News reports that the Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating the incident. It adds that BA apparently said the pilot did not declare an emergency and arrived as scheduled. A BA spokesperson said of the incident: “The safety of our customers and crew is the highest priority. The flight landed safely and customers disembarked normally.”
On the BA website, it says that passpengers on its flights ‘can take up to 15 battery-operated Personal Electronic Devices (PED) that contain lithium batteries such as laptops, tablets, smart phones, cameras, music players, smart baggage tags (e.g. Apple AirTag)’ but people must make ensure ‘all battery-powered devices are packed to prevent accidental activation’ and you must not ‘take any damaged batteries or electrical equipment with you’.
If in hand baggage, the devices may be energised while in use, but must be switched off, or placed in flight safe mode as directed by cabin crew. If in checked baggage, the device must be completely switched off (not in sleep or hibernation mode)’.
The website adds: “Spare batteries are forbidden in checked baggage and must be carried in the cabin. If your cabin bag is checked in or removed at the gate and placed in the hold, you must remove all spare batteries and power banks and carry them with you in the cabin.”
