Laptop fire causes plane to be evacuated

AMERICAN AIRLINES AIRBUS A321-231 N107NN (MSN 5938)

An American Airlines scheduled to fly from San Francisco International Airport (SFO/KSFO) to Miami International Airport (MIA/KMIA), had to be evacuated at Gate B27 due to smoke coming from a passenger's bag on Friday afternoon.

American Airlines released a statement saying: 

"During boarding of American Airlines flight 2045 with service from San Francisco to Miami, smoke was reported from inside a customer's bag. The bag was quickly removed by our crew members and all customers exited the aircraft. We thank our crew members for their professionalism and apologise to our customers for the inconvenience."

The evacuation was triggered by a thermal runaway in the lithium-ion battery of a laptop in a carry-on bag, which began emitting smoke. The evacuation was significantly delayed as many passengers tried to take their cabin baggage with them, leading to arguments with the cabin crew. Three individuals were injured during the evacuation, which used both the jetway and emergency exit slides.

Videos online show the plane’s crew shouting orders at passengers, “Move forward! Do not take your bags... Do not take your bags!” and “Come this way! Leave everything!” Some passengers used the jet bridge to evacuate the plane, and some used the emergency slide.

American Airlines Flight 2045 was scheduled to depart from San Francisco bound for Miami around 1:05pm when staff onboard the aircraft reported seeing smoke inside the cabin, according to fire officials. 

According to the San Francisco Fire Department, the fire was extinguished before firefighters arrived. 

A San Francisco affiliate reported the firefighters had placed a laptop in water outside of the plane.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: American Airlines

Code: AA/AAL

Aircraft: Airbus A321-231

Registration: N917UY

Serial number: 6427

Engines: 2 x IAE V2533-A5
First flew: 08/01/2015
Age: 9.5 Years