RE-RECALL? Replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone catches fire on Southwest plane.
Southwest Airlines flight 994 from Louisville to Baltimore was evacuated this morning while still at the gate because of a smoking Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. All passengers and crew exited the plane via the main cabin door and no injuries were reported, a Southwest Airlines spokesperson told The Verge.
More worrisome is the fact that the phone in question was a replacement Galaxy Note 7, one that was deemed to be safe by Samsung. The Verge spoke to Brian Green, owner of the Note 7, on the phone earlier today and he confirmed that he had picked up the new phone at an AT&T store on September 21st. A photograph of the box shows the black square symbol that indicates a replacement Note 7 and Green said it had a green battery icon.
There was a report last week from China that a replacement Galaxy Note 7 had caught fire, but with Chinese vendors sometimes you can’t be sure what you’re getting. This is the first instance I’ve seen where a known replacement model from the U.S. has proven dangerous.