Chicago: A US flight was evacuated prior to takeoff when a passenger’s Galaxy Note 7 — reportedly a replacement in Samsung’s global recall — caught fire, landing the company in new controversy.
Samsung has been struggling with a recall of 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 handsets due to complaints of exploding batteries, a problem the replacement phones are supposed to fix.
But on Thursday, a Southwest Airlines flight leaving Louisville, Kentucky was evacuated after a passenger’s new Samsung phone began emitting smoke.
Brian Green, the owner, told tech news website The Verge that the phone was a replacement, which he picked up on September 21. He also provided a picture of its box, which has a black square symbol indicating that it was a replacement.
