Woman left with facial burns after headphones explode mid-flight

Warning: Exploding headphones prompt safety fears over use of battery-powered devices on flights
Australian Transport Safety Bureau

An exploding battery in a set of headphones has left a woman with burns to her face, hands and hair after it blew up while she dozed during a long-haul flight.

Two hours into the trip from Beijing to Melbourne, the passenger was woken up to by the noise of an explosion and ripped the headphones from her ears.

The headphones had caught fire and were beginning to melt.

The passenger, who has not been identified, told the Australian Transport Safety Bureau she was listening to music when the explosion happened.

Warning: Exploding headphones prompt safety fears over use of battery-powered devices on flights
Australian Transport Safety Bureau

She said: “As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face. I just grabbed my face which caused the headphones to go around my neck.

“I continued to feel burning so I grabbed them off and threw them on the floor. They were sparking and had small amounts of fire.

“As I went to stamp my foot on them the flight attendants were already there with a bucket of water to pour on them. They put them into the bucket at the rear of the plane.”

Explosion: The passenger was left with burns to her hands, face and hair
Australian Transport Safety Bureau

The smell of melted plastic, burnt electronics and burnt hair hung over passengers for the rest of the 11-hour flight, the woman said.

She added: “People were coughing and choking the entire way home.”

The explosion, which left the woman with blisters on her hands and a blackened face, prompted Australian authorities to warn about the dangers of using battery-powered devices on flights.

Unless in use, batteries should be kept in appropriate stowage, and spares must be in stored in carry-on baggage, the ATSB said.

They added: “If a passenger’s smart phone or other device has fallen into the seat gap, locate their device before moving powered seats.

“[And] if a passenger cannot locate their device, they should refrain from moving their seat and immediately contact a cabin crew member.”

The ATSB report did not mention the brand of headphones, but investigators believe that a fault with a lithium-ion battery was a likely cause.

There have been a number of problems with lithium batteries on flights in recent years.

A plane about to take off from Sydney last year was forced to stop when smoke was seen rising from a piece of hand luggage.

A lithium battery had caught fire in the luggage, it was later found.

A device also went up in smoke when it was crushed under a moving seat in the US, the ATSB said.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in