Passenger dropped laptop into cargo hold, plane had to turn around to look for it for fear of explosion

(Dan Tri) - A passenger accidentally dropped his laptop into a small gap behind the passenger cabin wall on a United Airlines flight (USA), forcing the pilot to turn around and land.

A United Airlines flight from Washington, D.C. to Rome, Italy, was forced to turn around mid-flight after a passenger dropped a laptop computer into a small gap behind a partition in the passenger cabin. The device then fell into the cargo hold below.

According to data from FlightAware , flight number United 126 departed from Dulles International Airport (Washington, DC) at 10:22 p.m. (local time) on the evening of October 15.

As the plane took off about 100 miles southeast of Boston, the pilot contacted local air traffic control to request permission to return to the takeoff point.

Passenger dropped laptop in cargo hold, plane had to return to departure point (Photo: News).

“Unfortunately, we need clearance to return to Dulles. We have a small situation. A passenger on the flight dropped a laptop (still on) over the side of the cabin. The laptop is now in the cargo area under the plane,” the pilot said in the recording.

Not knowing the condition of the computer and unable to retrieve it, the pilot decided to return the plane to its starting point to search for the device before flying over the Atlantic.

After approval, the plane turned back to Washington. The air traffic controller asked if the pilot wanted to declare an emergency or need assistance landing, the pilot declined both.

According to the captain, returning the plane to its original departure point was only a precautionary measure and caution because the laptop contained a lithium battery. Meanwhile, the cargo area was not equipped with a fire suppression system.

A United Airlines representative recently confirmed the incident happened on one of their flights. The passenger’s laptop, which was still in operation, fell behind the cabin wall through a small gap leading to the cargo hold.

After the plane landed, the technical team found the laptop and checked it for safety. The flight then continued to Rome, about 4.5 hours later than scheduled.

The airline representative added that the captain's handling of this situation was to ensure maximum safety.

Earlier on October 18, a lithium battery fire in a passenger’s carry-on luggage on a flight from Hangzhou (China) to Incheon (South Korea) showed the potential risks of fire and explosion. Lithium batteries are commonly used in phones, laptops and power banks.

Lithium battery fire incident on a Chinese airline flight (Photo cut from video ).

According to Reuters , China's aviation authority has advised passengers since 2014 not to use spare batteries during flights.

From October 1, Emirates (United Arab Emirates) has issued a regulation that each passenger is only allowed to carry 1 spare battery under 100 Wh (27,000 mAh). Passengers are not allowed to use the battery during the flight and are not allowed to leave it in the overhead luggage compartment.

Lithium battery failures are rare but often have serious and unpredictable consequences. Backup batteries use flammable materials, and using batteries that are old, of unknown origin, or have some manufacturing defect can increase the risk of fire or explosion.

CNN quoted information from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) saying that over the past 20 years, there have been more than 500 cases of lithium batteries causing smoke, fire or high temperatures on flights.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/khach-roi-may-tinh-vao-khoang-hang-may-bay-phai-quay-dau-de-tim-vi-so-no-20251031173154199.htm