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Hawaiian Airlines Flight 457 declared an emergency due to a device stuck in a seat.
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After a priority landing in Tokyo, the airline was able to remove the mobile device.
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Trapped devices pose fire risks, and similar incidents have led to flight diversions before.
Another flight had a precarious moment when a passenger’s device got stuck in a seat.
Hawaiian Airlines Flight 457 was traveling from Honolulu to Tokyo on Monday.
Partway through the journey, flight attendants noticed an “electrical smell” in the cabin, an airline spokesperson told Business Insider.
They added that it was “coming from a guest’s mobile device that became lodged in a seat.”
The pilots then declared an emergency, which allowed them to obtain priority handling at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. This was done “out of an abundance of caution,” the spokesperson said.
They added that the airline’s team was able to remove the device from the seat after everyone deplaned safely.
“Safety is our priority, and we apologize to impacted guests for the inconvenience.”
Airlines take trapped devices very seriously because lithium batteries can catch fire and spread throughout the cabin, creating a potentially dangerous situation.
Airlines tell passengers to keep devices in the cabin rather than the hold so that any problems can be spotted.
Some Japanese news outlets reported that the device caught fire, but the airline told BI this wasn’t the case.
Back in January, an Air Busan Airbus A321 caught fire shortly before takeoff in South Korea, injuring seven people. Investigators said in March that it was likely caused by a portable power bank.
After the fire, the airline announced it would no longer allow passengers to keep power banks in their carry-on luggage.
Earlier this month, a Lufthansa Airbus A380 had to divert after someone’s tablet became “jammed” in a business-class seat.
The flight from Los Angeles to Munich, carrying 461 passengers, had been flying for around three hours when it diverted to Boston.
And last May, a United Airlines flight from Zurich to Chicago had to turn around and divert to Ireland after a business-class passenger’s laptop got stuck in their seat.
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