Search

Lithium Battery Fire Creates Scare Aboard International Flight

Posted on 8/4/2017 by Roger Marks

Quick thinking and effective lithium battery safety training helped the crew of a SriLankan Airlines flight avert a major incident involving a smoking lithium battery aboard their plane.

When flight crew noticed smoke coming from an overhead bin, they sprang into action and sprayed the bag down with a fire extinguisher. When that didn’t work, the crew—following their lithium battery fire procedure—quickly submerged the smoking bag in water to put out the fire.

Once the immediate threat was neutralized, the crew discovered a lithium battery pack and cell phones in the bag. Zero injuries were reported among the crew or the 202 passengers aboard the Airbus 330-200 plane, which landed in Sri Lanka as scheduled.
 
This isn’t the first (or last) time a lithium battery has ignited in transport aboard a passenger plane. In June, a San Francisco-bound commercial flight was forced to make an emergency landing when a lithium battery-powered device caught fire in a passenger’s carry-on bag.

In recent years, major airlines have expressed growing uncertainty about the safety of these batteries aboard cargo and passenger aircraft. Lithium battery fires have the potential to burn out of controleven overwhelming the fire suppression system aboard modern aircraft, according to Boeing.

It’s not just airlines who are concerned about lithium batteries. In April of this year, a train car hauling lithium batteries outside of Houston, Texas reportedly caught fire. While no injuries were reported, emergency responders were called to extinguish the blaze. 


Expert Lithium Battery Shipping and Safety Training

Learn the latest regulations and be confident you know what it takes to get your lithium battery shipments classified, packaged, marked, labeled, handled and documented properly. Check out the Shipping Lithium Batteries Online Course for full DG training you can complete anytime, anywhere. 

Employees who handle lithium batteries in the workplace must know the hazards these batteries pose and how to protect themselves and co-workers. The interactive Lithium Battery Safety Online Course is designed specifically for employees who handle and store lithium-ion or lithium-metal batteries at work.
 

Tags: hazmat, hazmat shipping, IATA, lithium batteries

Find a Post

Compliance Archives

Lion - Quotes

I like Lion's workshops the best because they really dig into the information you need to have when you leave the workshop.

Tom Bush, Jr.

EHS Manager

The training was impressive. I am not a fan of online training but this was put together very well. I would recommend Lion to others.

Donnie James

Quality Manager

I think LION does an excellent job of any training they do. Materials provided are very useful to my day-to-day work activities.

Pamela Embody

EHS Specialist

I love that the instructor emphasized the thought process behind the regs.

Rebecca Saxena

Corporate Product Stewardship Specialist

This is the best RCRA training I've experienced! I will be visiting Lion training again.

Cynthia L. Logsdon

Principal Environmental Engineer

The instructor was very knowledgeable and provided pertinent information above and beyond the questions that were asked.

Johnny Barton

Logistics Coordinator

The instructor was very engaging and helped less experienced people understand the concepts.

Steve Gall

Safety Leader

The instructor was very dedicated to providing a quality experience. She did her best to make sure students were really comprehending the information.

Stephanie Venn

Inventory Control Specialist

This is a very informative training compared to others. It covers everything I expect to learn and even a lot of new things.

Quatama Jackson

Waste Management Professional

Lion Technology workshops are amazing!! You always learn so much, and the instructors are fantastic.

Dorothy Rurak

Environmental Specialist

Download Our Latest Whitepaper

This report details major changes for hazardous waste generators from US EPA’s Generator Improvements Rule, as well as the latest updates from states that are still working to adopt new, stricter Federal requirements.

Latest Whitepaper

By submitting your phone number, you agree to receive recurring marketing and training text messages. Consent to receive text messages is not required for any purchases. Text STOP at any time to cancel. Message and data rates may apply. View our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.