Four to five passengers sustained burn injuries on an American Airlines flight from Atlanta to Dallas after a customer’s laptop caught fire and filled the cabin with smoke during landing on Friday. Flight attendants contained the device in a thermal bag before the aircraft landed safely at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport around 6:55 p.m. local time.
An American Airlines flight carrying 133 people originated in Atlanta and encountered an in-flight emergency roughly 30 minutes before reaching its destination on Friday. Passengers on board experienced heavy smoke filling the cabin as a portable computer overheated in the mid-section of the aircraft.
Pilot Audio Reveals Cabin Fire and Burn Injuries on Flight 2398
Air traffic control audio captured the pilot’s urgent requests as flight attendants scrambled to extinguish the device.
“Cabin fire in the back of the airplane,” the pilot says in air traffic control audio obtained by CBS News. “The flight attendants are trying to put it out now.”
Pilot, American Airlines
Jessica Irgens, a passenger onboard who was sitting two rows from the fire and ran to the back of the plane because of the heavy smoke, recounted that the owner placed the burning laptop in the aisle, and one or two passengers who tried to help burned their hands.
“I think we have about four to five passengers that were burned by the laptop,” the pilot said in the air traffic control audio. “The laptop is contained about mid-aircraft.”
Pilot, American Airlines
Despite the pilot’s initial report of four to five burn victims, airport officials clarified that only one person received medical treatment at the scene before being released. Emergency personnel met the aircraft at the gate as standard procedure when American Airlines Flight 2398 taxied under its own power.
Thermal Containment and Airline Response
The crew sealed the smoking electronics inside a thermal containment bag within about five minutes, preventing a wider disaster inside the passenger cabin.
Federal aviation investigators opened an inquiry into the incident through the Federal Aviation Administration. Airline representatives issued a formal statement praising the crew’s handling of the emergency.
“American Airlines flight 2398 landed safely at DFW after reports of smoke from a customer’s device during landing,” American Airlines said in a statement. “We thank our crew for their professionalism and swift response to quickly contain the device.”
American Airlines officials, American Airlines
Rising Lithium Battery Incidents Across Commercial Aviation
The Dallas incident highlights growing concerns over lithium-ion batteries powering everyday electronics such as laptops, cellphones, and portable chargers. Regulators note that these batteries can trigger a volatile chemical reaction known as thermal runaway.
The Federal Aviation Administration warns that the phenomenon can occur without warning as a result of various factors, including if the battery is damaged, overheated, exposed to water, overcharged, or improperly packed. Government safety data indicates that such events are climbing significantly across the commercial airline sector, following earlier events such as a February incident where an Alaska Airlines flight bound for Wichita, Kansas, was forced to return to Seattle, Washington, after a passenger’s power bank device overheated and caught fire.
| Year | FAA-Documented Lithium Battery Incidents |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 47 |
| 2018 | 50 |
| 2019 | 45 |
| 2020 | 39 |
| 2021 | 54 |
| 2022 | 75 |
| 2023 | 79 |
| 2024 | 90 |
| 2025 | 97 |
| 2026* | 58 |
Annual aircraft safety reports show that documented incidents involving smoke, fire, or extreme heat rose from 54 events in 2021 to a record 97 incidents in 2025, representing an increase of nearly 80%. Federal regulators logged another 58 cases through July 31, 2026. These figures encompass verified and unverified events involving smoke, fire, or extreme heat that the agency is aware of, though the FAA cautions that the data should not be considered a complete listing of every incident.
Strict baggage regulations mandate that spare lithium batteries, power banks, and cell phone battery charging cases must be packed in carry-on baggage rather than checked luggage. Furthermore, battery terminals must be protected from short circuits, batteries must be protected from damage, and damaged or recalled batteries that could spark or generate dangerous heat generally cannot be brought aboard commercial flights.
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