Laptop scare aboard United: Device slips from cabin into cargo, forcing plane to take a U-turn
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Laptop scare on United Airlines flight to Rome
A United Airlines flight from Virginia to Rome witnessed a one-of-its-kind incident when a passenger somehow dropped his laptop from the cabin into the cargo area. The plane had to return to the airport and was delayed by over five hours.
Laptops can pose a safety hazard if placed in an airplane's luggage section. So when a man dropped his laptop from the cabin into the cargo of a United Airlines flight, it had to turn around after nearly one hour. The flight was going to Rome from Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia. The pilot was notified about the incident, who reached out to Air Traffic Control (ATC), telling them that a passenger had "somehow dropped a laptop down the sidewall into the cargo pit area of the aeroplane." United Airlines Boeing 767-400ER had to make a U-turn off the coast of Boston nearly an hour into the flight on October 15, data from Flightradar shows. The turnaround became essential since the laptop had a lithium-ion battery, which was a safety hazard. “Unfortunately, we’re going to have to get clearance to return to Dulles,” the pilot added.
Lithium batteries can overheat and explode
The laptop was switched on when it slipped into the cargo section. The pilots didn't know what to do since there was no way to ascertain how much longer it would be before the battery discharged. This posed a safety risk to other passengers, and so the pilots were left with no choice but to return to the Washington Dulles airport. Audio of the conversation between the ATC and the pilots has the latter saying, "We don’t know the status of it. We can’t access it. We can’t see it." It became important to search for the laptop before reembarking on the journey. They did not term the situation an emergency, but merely a precaution. “You know, due to the lithium battery in the cargo area, where it’s actually even … not even near the suppression system that we have for, you know, fires down there. So this is just a safety precaution.”
The plane landed at Dulles Airport at 12:35 am. The laptop was successfully retrieved. It was refuelled and took off for a second time at 3:25 am. The pilots and the ATC said it was the first time that they had witnessed anything like this. "Good story to tell at the pilot lounge," an ATC member said.
