South Korea Says Battery Pack Is Possible Cause of Air Busan Fire
A spare power bank is a possible cause of a fire that engulfed an Air Busan plane in January, South Korea's transport ministry said on Friday, citing interim investigation results.
Scorch marks on the debris of a power bank found where the fire was first detected indicate the blaze may have started because insulation inside the battery had broken down, the statement said.
Investigators cannot yet state what may have caused the breakdown, however, according to the statement.
Lithium batteries in devices such as laptops, mobile phones, electronic cigarettes and power banks can produce smoke, fire or extreme heat when manufacturing faults or damage cause them to short circuit.
No abnormalities in the plane's own electrical systems have been identified, the statement said.
The fire on Jan. 28 was first detected in a luggage bin above row 30 on the left side of the plane about 20 minutes after the delayed flight to Hong Kong from Busan, in South Korea, had been scheduled to depart, investigators have said.
All 170 passengers and six crew were evacuated from the Airbus A321ceo plane, which the fire destroyed.
South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board is leading the investigation. Friday's investigation update is not a final accident report, which states are obliged to produce within a year of an incident, according to global aviation standards.
Aviation has long recognized lithium batteries as a safety concern, and rules are periodically tightened in response to accidents.
From March 1, South Korea changed rules on carrying batteries onboard flights, including keeping power banks and e-cigarettes with passengers and not in overhead bins, and not charging devices on board.
Last year three incidents every two weeks of overheating lithium batteries on planes were recorded globally by the US Federal Aviation Administration, compared to just under one a week in 2018.
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Saudi Gazette
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Power bank likely caused South Korea plane fire, investigators say
SEOUL — A portable power bank likely caused a fire that engulfed and destroyed a passenger plane in South Korea in January, according to local authorities. The Air Busan plane caught fire at Gimhae International Airport in the country's south on 28 January – causing three people on board to sustain minor injuries. On Friday, South Korea's transport ministry said that interim investigation results indicate the fire may have started because insulation inside a power bank battery had broken down. The power bank was found in an overhead luggage compartment where the fire was first detected, and its debris had scorch marks, according to the statement. Investigators could not say what may have caused the battery breakdown, it added. The update is also based only on interim findings, and is not a final accident report on the aircraft, an Airbus around the world have banned power banks from checked luggage for years due to safety concerns, which relate to the lithium-ion batteries inside the batteries can produce extreme heat and fire if damage or manufacturing faults cause them to short batteries of any kind have been banned from the cargo holds of passenger planes since 2016, as per a directive by the International Civil Aviation the week after the Air Busan fire, the airline tightened those rules further, announcing that it would no longer allow passengers to keep power banks in their onboard carrier said the new rules were in response to an increase in the number of power banks that were overheating.A growing number of airlines – including China Airlines and Thai Airways - are rolling out similar rules, with Singapore Airlines and its low-cost unit Scoot set to become the latest to ban the use and charging of power banks onboard from 1 28 February, the South Korean government also announced that passengers boarding flights in the country would be required to carry portable batteries and chargers on their person, rather than storing them in overhead compartments. — BBC
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South Korea Says Battery Pack Is Possible Cause of Air Busan Fire
A spare power bank is a possible cause of a fire that engulfed an Air Busan plane in January, South Korea's transport ministry said on Friday, citing interim investigation results. Scorch marks on the debris of a power bank found where the fire was first detected indicate the blaze may have started because insulation inside the battery had broken down, the statement said. Investigators cannot yet state what may have caused the breakdown, however, according to the statement. Lithium batteries in devices such as laptops, mobile phones, electronic cigarettes and power banks can produce smoke, fire or extreme heat when manufacturing faults or damage cause them to short circuit. No abnormalities in the plane's own electrical systems have been identified, the statement said. The fire on Jan. 28 was first detected in a luggage bin above row 30 on the left side of the plane about 20 minutes after the delayed flight to Hong Kong from Busan, in South Korea, had been scheduled to depart, investigators have said. All 170 passengers and six crew were evacuated from the Airbus A321ceo plane, which the fire destroyed. South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board is leading the investigation. Friday's investigation update is not a final accident report, which states are obliged to produce within a year of an incident, according to global aviation standards. Aviation has long recognized lithium batteries as a safety concern, and rules are periodically tightened in response to accidents. From March 1, South Korea changed rules on carrying batteries onboard flights, including keeping power banks and e-cigarettes with passengers and not in overhead bins, and not charging devices on board. Last year three incidents every two weeks of overheating lithium batteries on planes were recorded globally by the US Federal Aviation Administration, compared to just under one a week in 2018.
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