Flight attendant union warns of “catastrophic” fire danger from e-cigarettes on planes

The pres >wants the FAA to ban e-cigarettes from planes because their lithium-ion batteries might be a fire risk. Lithium-ion batteries energy just about any mobile device we have actually — however the concern about vaping products is due to the very fact they frequently use cheaper batteries to power them, raising worries they are prone to fail and produce a fire .

In February, free lithium-ion batteries sparked a fire aboard a Delta journey whilst it sat during the gate. Those batteries come in e-cigarettes – just like the the one that caught fire when you look at the TSA line in Charleston, western Virginia. As well as in Savannah, Georgia, the battery pack for a vape pen had been blamed after having a case began smoking at protection.

At the very least 265 incidents involving batteries have actually been reported towards the FAA since 1991, and FAA information shows at least 48 e-cigarette associated smoke or fire incidents at airports or on planes. That’s more incidents than laptop computers and pills, mobile phones, battery chargers or free batteries.

An FAA test movie shows why lithium-ion batteries have already been banned in checked baggage. If a battery fails and goes into exactly what’s called thermal runaway, it could burn off therefore hot that the plane’s fire suppression system can not put it down. In 2016, the FAA banned the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone due to its lithium batteries beginning fires.

“A lithium ion battery pack fire on an airplane may be catastrophic,” Sara Nelson, president regarding the Association of Flight Attendants, told CBS Information transport correspondent Kris Van Cleave. Nelson added that trip attendants have grown to be firefighters on planes, together with FAA has to do more.

Trip attendants are taught to manage battery fires. That will involve placing the smoldering or device that is flaming fire-resistant bags, that are now carried up to speed many planes.

“think about we simply not have these e-cigarettes from the air air plane at all?” Nelson said.

But Mark Millam for the Flight Safety Foundation said while batteries from e-cigarettes are a definite concern that is great planes, extra information becomes necessary before find links an outright ban is practical.

“A ban might happen if you find just the right information which is comprehended about any of it,” he stated.

The FAA told “CBS This Morning” in a declaration so it has “clear regulations” in the transport that is safe of batteries. Legislation requires that e-cigarettes, vape pencils, and batteries that are spare be transported in carry-on bags.

The administration added that “because associated with wide selection of battery pack conditions that can occur, it is necessary that air companies have actually the flexibleness to evaluate and address the potential risks tangled up in every person situation.”