The Samsung J7 caught fire during a flight in India about 15 minutes after takeoff. The phone belongs to Arpita Dhal, a resident of Delhi, India, who had the phone in her handbag under the seat. She called for help when she noticed smoke emitting from the bag.
Passengers reported that on-board fire extinguishers did not work, so the crew put out the fire by dunking the phone in a tray of water. The crew also dunked two other phones Arpita was carrying in the bag.
Her husband Atul Dhal said:
It was a mid-air panic. We prayed to god. I will complain against Jet Airways after I return home. This is a question of safety of passengers in flights. If there is a major fire or blast what will they do when their fire extinguishers don’t work like this.”
The incident occurred on Jet Airways’ flight 9W 791 from Delhi to Indore. A spokesperson for Jet Airways said the incident was resolved “as per guidelines” and the phone was confiscated for investigators.
Samsung recalled 2.5 million of the Galaxy Note 7 phones in September 2016 after receiving 96 reports of the battery overheating, smoking, or catching on fire in the United States, resulting in 26 burn injuries.
One month later, Southwest Airlines had to evacuate a plane after a passenger’s replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone overheated and started emitting smoke just before takeoff.
Source: Samsung Galaxy J7 explodes on Jet Airways flight, company is investigating the matter