The Flight Safety Foundation urged the aviation industry to take steps not to introduce another ‘risk’ from the highly flammable batteries powering the electronics. Three cargo aircraft have been destroyed by fires attributed at least in part to lithium batteries, two of which were fatal accidents, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. “If they are in the cargo hold and one overheats and goes into thermal runaway, you can’t deal with it,” he said. Passengers should be reminded to switch off electronics if they pack them in checked bags, the Flight Safety Foundation’s Marshall said. They also shouldn’t assume it’s now permissible to stow spare batteries and e-cigarettes in luggage bound for the cargo hold.

Source: Mint April 09, 2017 12:11 UTC