‘Sparking’ cell phone forces Alaska Airlines flight to evacuate at Sea-Tac, officials say
An overheated cellphone forced the evacuation of an Alaska Airlines flight at Sea-Tac International Airport on Monday, airline officials say.
Initial reports from Sea-Tac said a passenger’s cellphone had caught fire in the aircraft cabin of Flight 751 shortly after arriving from New Orleans on Monday evening. Airline officials said a phone simply overheated, however, and “began sparking.”
“The crew acted swiftly using fire extinguishers and a battery containment bag to stop the phone from smoking,” an Alaska Airlines spokesperson told McClatchy News in a statement. “Crew members deployed the evacuation slides due to hazy conditions inside the cabin.”
The incident unfolded as the plane was awaiting a gate.
Two passengers were taken to a local hospital for treatment, the airline said. No other injuries were reported.
In all, there were 129 passengers and six crew members on board.
This story was originally published August 24, 2021 at 1:58 PM with the headline "‘Sparking’ cell phone forces Alaska Airlines flight to evacuate at Sea-Tac, officials say."