Lion incidents average once a week on US flights since 2021

[chillinn]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hazardous-materials-airplanes/

FAA: Lithium Battery Incidents

IATA: Three Incidents Involving Lithium Batteries (pdf)

(Maybe this could go in Batteries Included, but I figured it'd be more comfortable in Cafe)

I suspect most of the recent Liion incidents are caused by cell phones, with laptops the next cause in frequency, and probably none by Liion flashlights... yet, though UPS Flight 6 in 2010, a European flight and the first of the 3 studies in the third link above, was carrying a pallet of 81K Liion cells.

FWIW, the FAA handles upwards of 315K passenger flights per week in the US.

 

[idleprocess]

I suspect most of the recent Liion incidents are caused by cell phones, with laptops the next cause in frequency, and probably none by Liion flashlights... yet, though UPS Flight 6 in 2010, a European flight and the first of the 3 studies in the third link above, was carrying a pallet of 81K Liion cells.

Phones, laptops, tablets are probably the most common devices carried on aircraft. But they tend to have high-quality cells with good protective circuitry to minimize the potential for external overload.

The companion powerbank genre on the other hand has a tendency to be a value-engineered thus I imagine it's a more likely suspect in these situations.

A vaping device was mentioned in one of the reports; given their tendency to focus on power delivery without the engineering standards of power tools and major-brand consumer electronics they might also feature heavily in these incidents.

 

[chillinn]

A vaping device was mentioned in one of the reports; given their tendency to focus on power delivery without the engineering standards of power tools and major-brand consumer electronics they might also feature heavily in these incidents.

Forgot vapes. Those must be the most common cause by now for reasons you've given, as even the cheapest cell phone will have better battery conditioning.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

I saw that story also. Astonishing. I've got to wonder about the numerous opportunities for batteries to get squashed on airplanes.

 

[pnwoutdoors]

"Honestly, I thought we were going to die," she said. "I looked and all I saw was flashes, just like flashes. I'm like, 'Oh my God, like, what is that?' And [the owner of the bag] is like, 'I don't know. I don't know.'"

^ A key factor, many people having zero clue about the nature of such batteries.

I wonder if "protection" circuitry would keep all such incidents from happening. Somehow, I suspect that, with how rapidly the growth has been, this isn't the case.

Most such situations seem to be people's personal devices. Of course, there are also the "big" events that media gets hold of, the Teslas and other EVs that burst into flames following wrecks.

Serious problem. And it'll only get worse, as electrically-drive everything expands to fill the remaining space.

 

[idleprocess]

I wonder if "protection" circuitry would keep all such incidents from happening. Somehow, I suspect that, with how rapidly the growth has been, this isn't the case.

They prevent shorting and over-discharge so they prevent some catastrophic failure modes, but can't do a thing about defects or physical damage that cause thermal runaway where all 3 sides of the fire triangle are present.

We're at about peak personal electronics powered by li-ion cells so I suspect incident rates won't markedly increase.

Most such situations seem to be people's personal devices. Of course, there are also the "big" events that media gets hold of, the Teslas and other EVs that burst into flames following wrecks.

First it was laptops. Then it was vape pens. Most recently EVs. The news media would go broke reporting about all the airliners that landed uneventfully, kittens rescued from trees, and feel good stories about local charities making a positive impact on their communities so a good helping of FUD it is to keep your eyes glued your ears tuned and that clicking on social media.

For all of the RUD problems we hear about with li-ion and all the cells of murky provenance being produced, they remain mercifully rare. We'll adapt one way or another.

 

[RWT1405]

They prevent shorting and over-discharge so they prevent some catastrophic failure modes, but can't do a thing about defects or physical damage that cause thermal runaway where all 3 sides of the fire triangle are present.

Just an update to the info you presented.

These days we teach the Fire Tetrahedron.

 

[chillinn]

I guess the "fire square" or "fire rhombus" wouldn't have sounded as cool, and "fire tetrahedron" has a note of seriousness to it that "fire diamond" lacks.