A plane taxiing towards the runway for a flight from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Singapore’s Changi Airport on Tuesday caused a passenger to return to the terminal without taking off when his portable battery (Power Bank) caught fire. The fire was large enough to frighten passengers and fill the cabin with smoke.
Taiwanese politician Wang Hao-yu was on Scoot Airlines flight TR993. He posted a Chinese statement about the incident on his Facebook page: “As the plane took off and started taxiing, a fire broke out in the cabin and the cabin was filled with smoke. The crews noticed the fire and immediately started extinguishing it. A later investigation revealed that the source of the fire was a portable battery on board. The fire and smoke caused minor injuries to two passengers.”
Fuh bahaya betul!
Dua penumpang cedera apabila sebuah alat pengecas kuasa atau 'power bank' terbakar dalam satu penerbangan Scoot ke Singapura tidak lama selepas ia berlepas pada Selasa (10 Jan). pic.twitter.com/lDeljhCWMI
— Malaysian Update🇲🇾 (@Msia_Update) January 11, 2023
Wang later also posted a photo of the burned-out battery, which you can see above.
After the plane passed the security check, 187 passengers were individually given the option to disembark or continue to Singapore. However, the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board stepped in and the TR993 did not fly that day.
The United States issued a warning against spare lithium batteries in checked baggage in 2015. Airlines now allow two power banks total under 100Wh on flights, but require them to be in hand luggage only.
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