An American Airlines passenger needed medical attention upon landing in Dallas after getting injured by a burning laptop while the flight was in progress.
American Airlines Flight 2398 left from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday and landed as planned at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, according to FlightAware.
“American Airlines Flight 2398 landed safely at DFW after reports of smoke from a customer’s device during landing. … After landing, the aircraft taxied to the gate under its own power. Per procedure, emergency personnel met the aircraft upon arrival to the gate,” American Airlines said in a statement to People.
Dallas airport officials also confirmed to the magazine that the passenger, who was not named, was released after being treated. The injured passenger suffered burns to the hands, the pilot told air traffic controllers, according to audio posted online by Fort Worth’s KTVT.
The pilot initially spotlighted multiple victims, telling air traffic controllers, “I think we have about four to five passengers that were burned by the laptop. The laptop is contained about midaircraft,” according to the audio uploaded by KTVT.
The flight had 133 passengers, American Airlines told USA Today.
The exact cause of the fire was not specified. Lithium-ion batteries, a category that includes laptop batteries, are an ongoing concern onboard aircraft.
Before Friday’s incident, U.S. flights had 58 lithium battery incidents this year, two of which involved laptops, according to Federal Aviation Administration data.
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