Rare story: Plane had to return to airport because passenger lost phone

An Air France flight from Paris, France to Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe, was forced to turn back after a passenger lost his phone on board, raising safety concerns.

Flight AF750 departed the City of Light at around 11:52 a.m. last Friday and was flying out of France, across the English Channel en route to the Caribbean Isles. Just an hour into the nine-hour journey, a passenger reported losing her phone in her seat.

Passenger loses phone on plane seat, forcing flight to turn around

PHOTO: NYP

Despite extensive search efforts, the crew were unable to find the device, so they decided to return to the departure airport as a "precautionary measure".

As a result, the Boeing 777-300 carrying 375 passengers and 12 flight attendants returned to Paris, landing at 3:25 p.m., just 2 hours and 16 minutes after takeoff.

Upon arrival, maintenance teams were dispatched to search for the missing smartphone and eventually recovered it. The flight then departed back to Guadeloupe.

A lost phone may seem harmless, but phones contain lithium-ion batteries, which can pose a fire hazard if they overheat... Electronics expert Ben Shlappig says that "if a phone is lost somewhere (perhaps a seat or in the overhead compartment) and then damaged" then the potential for a fire on a plane is very high.

There have been numerous cases of electronic devices exploding during flights. One recent incident involved a power bank that started smoking on a Batik Airlines flight from Malaysia to Thailand. Many airlines across Asia have begun banning people from using power banks or storing them in their luggage on planes for this reason.

Losing devices on planes is more common than you might think, but it’s rare for a plane to turn around. “I lost my phone in business class on Emirates 777 BKK-SYD and the crew searched for it with a bottle of water in case it caught fire,” one passenger said. However, he said Air France’s turnback was crazy because it was so expensive.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chuyen-hiem-may-bay-phai-quay-lai-san-bay-vi-hanh-khach-lam-mat-dien-thoai-18525032908320096.htm