In a shocking incident, a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 smartphone caught fire mid-air on an Indigo flight, which was on its way from Singapore to Chennai this morning.
The incident took place at 7.45 am and a senior Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DCGA) official has called Samsung officials to discuss on the matter.
Fortunately, the flight crew noticed smoke emanating from an overhead baggage bin above seat number 23 and used a fire extinguisher to control it. Later, the smartphone was transferred into a container filled with water in the lavatory.
The aircraft made a normal landing at Chennai airport, and all passengers were deplaned as per normal procedure.
Earlier, DCGA officials also advised airlines to make an announcement on every flight to switch off all Samsung devices on flight.
According to reports, Indigo has informed DGCA that the handset will be further examined by concerned authorities to find the root cause of the mishap.
The meeting between DCGA and Samsung officials is scheduled for Monday. This is the first incident where a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has been reported catching fire.
Earlier Samsung’s flagship Note 7 was facing a severe issue, where the smartphones were either catching fire or exploding. Samsung had to recall around 2.5 million devices globally.
The company was just recovering from the Note 7 setback, as it managed to re-launch a fresh batch of safe devices. However, today's incident where another variant caught fire, again rises several questions regarding the safety of the company's smartphones.
