The media learned about incident from the French Bureau of Investigation (BEA), however, little is known about the details of the incident and the state of health of the passenger.
Air France flight AF9421 was heading from Malaga, Spain to Paris. The commander received permission to land, and at that moment, an electronic cigarette belonging to one of the passengers suddenly caught fire.
The flight attendants responded immediately by using a special fireproof bag. However, BEA reported that one person on board the aircraft was seriously injured as a result of the fire.
Electronic cigarettes are of particular concern to aviators. They are powered by lithium batteries, which are extremely difficult to extinguish if they ignite spontaneously.
Many aviation regulators around the world prohibit passengers from checking e-cigarettes in checked baggage precisely because of the risk of inadvertent combustion.
Despite the fact that a fire in the passenger compartment is dangerous, flight attendants are trained, have all the skills of firefighters and have special equipment to deal with the situation. However, if a lithium battery catches fire in the luggage compartment, it is incredibly difficult to contain the fire, and the situation can quickly get out of control.
However, flight attendant unions constantly raise concerns about e-cigarettes, and in 2019 , the head of the Association of Flight Attendants AFA-CWA, Sarah Nelson, called for a complete ban on carrying them on board aircraft.
Of course, lithium batteries can be found in a huge number of other devices and devices, including mobile phones, players and tablets. And they're just as dangerous there.
Last August, a full Alaska Airlines plane was evacuated after a passenger's mobile phone caught fire shortly after landing. The flight attendants were also able to put out the fire by placing the phone in a fire bag, but the cabin quickly filled with smoke and a full-scale evacuation was ordered.