Rules for Portable Batteries on Planes Are Changing. (nytimes.com) 45
Several Asian airlines have tightened restrictions on portable battery chargers amid growing concerns about fire risks, following a January blaze that destroyed an Air Busan aircraft in South Korea. South Korean airlines now require passengers to keep portable chargers within arm's reach rather than in overhead bins, a rule implemented March 1 to ease public anxiety, according to the Transportation Ministry. Taiwan's EVA Air and China Airlines have banned using or charging power banks on flights but still allow them in overhead compartments.
Thai Airways announced a similar ban last Friday, citing "incidents of in-flight fires on international airlines." Battery-related incidents on U.S. airlines have increased from 32 in 2016 to 84 last year, with portable chargers identified as the most common culprit, according to Federal Aviation Administration data. The International Civil Aviation Organization has banned lithium-ion batteries from cargo holds since 2016, though no industry standard exists for regulating power banks.
Thai Airways announced a similar ban last Friday, citing "incidents of in-flight fires on international airlines." Battery-related incidents on U.S. airlines have increased from 32 in 2016 to 84 last year, with portable chargers identified as the most common culprit, according to Federal Aviation Administration data. The International Civil Aviation Organization has banned lithium-ion batteries from cargo holds since 2016, though no industry standard exists for regulating power banks.
battery fires on planes that you can touch (Score:3)
> South Korean airlines now require passengers to keep portable chargers within arm's reach rather than in overhead bins
I'm curious how this helps. Its not like you are going to stamp out or smother a battery fire. If you've ever been around one of these battery fires then you know it is likely to produce a large amount of nasty smoke and unless you have a bucket of water you are not putting it out or doing anything that helps much. On a plane it is just going to burn itself out, no matter where in the cabin you put it.
Re:battery fires on planes that you can touch (Score:4, Informative)
Because if it's buried in a bag of clothes it's more likely to overheat, smoulder, and make things a lot worse. At least if you have it nearby you can react and put it in an explosion containment pie dish.
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If you can get to it fast enough, the attendants can likely stuff it into a fireproof bag and maybe put it into a compartment that vents outside.
It would also help prevent setting all the clothing in the bags on fire as well.
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I challenge you to actually accomplish that.
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They'd need ceramic-coated tongs, some kind of bomb-bag and a chamber with an airlock that can be vented to the atmosphere. None of these things are standard equipment on any airplane that I've ever seen.
Re: battery fires on planes that you can touch (Score:1)
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Emergency kits are already available that come with what looks like a thin oven mitt, and a sealable high temperature bag, for lithium emergencies. The mitt will give you 10 seconds or so to handle the battery, and once you toss it in the bag and zip it shut, it will go out on its own due to lack of oxygen. The bag just has to hold long enough under the extreme heat for it to run out of oxygen.
The danger with lipo packs is when they catch fire, the electrolyte decomposes and releases hydrogen, which ignit
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The oxygen is contained in the electrolyte. Nothing can put them out. They have to burn all the fuel and go out on their own.
Either the container has to withstand the fire's extreme temperature or the battery must be ejected from the aircraft.
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An alternative is use battery chemistries that don't do that. Then we can ban all the high-fire risk chemistries.
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Flight attendants trian for this. They douse it with ice and water, put it in a fireproof bag, dump ice in it and put it in the lavatory. Lavatory air is always vented outside.
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One...Moment...Please...fetching the pie dish now.
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Yeah, you could always throw it out the window :)
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Yeah, you could always throw it out the window :)
Out the open overwing exit door plug.
See? It's a feature. Not a bug.
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You are more likely to notice it expanding and smoking if you have it near you though. Even if it does catch fire without warning, being in the cabin instead of in a confined space, inside a zipped up bag, under other bags, will make it easier to prevent the fire spreading.
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Re: battery fires on planes that you can touch (Score:2)
Because knowing about the fire early can save lives. Once the fire starts, the pilots have a few minutes to get the plane on the ground and the passengers off. If you subtract the first 3-4 minutes because it was burning in an overhead locker, you have much lower chances.
You can also potentially contain the fire if you know about it early. I wonder if a light weight equivalent of a bucket of sand could be invented, it way be as simple as having a portable metal case that the flight attendants scoop the p
Windows Selfwaking Wake-timer is Dangerous (Score:3)
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your laptop's UEFI/SMM firmware will shut down at a critical temperature. And your battery pack will also shut off if the temperature is exceeded, if it is using a chip to track charging/cycling or at least offers some basic thermal protection. All of this occurs regardless if you're running Windows or Linux on it.
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I don't understand why anyone would buy a power bank except for unusual situations like camping expeditions, a phone's battery lasts for days. A laptop's battery lasts for 20 hours. Especially on a phone when any longish flight has charging ports at each seat.
Your definition of "power bank" is very specific to mean an industrial power station for things like outages and camping. Google "power bank" and what comes up is generally a battery ranging from phone sized units to camping stations.
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Does anyone really fully trust Lithium-Ion batteries anymore? They were fine when they w
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I see several holes in your reasoning, at least for common folks.
Battery capacity: most folks don't have a brand new phone or laptop that last the 'advertised' times from the marketing department. Some of us buy used devices and keep them for several years.
Not all airplanes, even long courier ones, provide a USB port for each seat, more less so a USB-C one.
Some folks do fly as a stage to a hiking destination, so they might need to to bring a power bank with them.
I don't travel a whole lot but when I visit f
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"a phone's battery lasts for days. A laptop's battery lasts for 20 hours."
Neither are true for 98% of phones or laptops, especially if they are actively being used. Try watching a movie on a phone or laptop (a common use while on a plane) and let us know how long they last.
Re: bruh (Score:2)
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A power bank does contain battery charging circuitry.
I'm wondering (Score:2)
What brands are starting on fire. Are they cheap uncertfied brands? (Chinese)
Backup battery (Score:2)
I have a backup battery that looks like some kind of military equipment. It's made in China. It's OD green. It has the shape of a small canteen, or could be mistaken for a dead-man switch or bomb remote. Or a hand grenade for those who don't know what they look like.
Pretty sure it wouldn't pass TSA even if it is just a laptop-sized battery in a water resistant case.
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What is a "portable charger"? (Score:4, Insightful)
Article is paywalled.
What do they mean by "portable chargers"? I hear people call USB cables "chargers" and others call USB power bricks (AC --> 5VDC) "chargers".
Maybe they mean portable battery banks?
--Confused
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Reading what's out there is clear they are referring to the kind of portable external battery banks people use to have extra battery capacity for their devices.
Thank Goodness (Score:2)
For some period of time any battery over 10Ah could only be brought in checked baggage.
That seemed like the craziest possible "solution" to me. This is far superior.