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United flight makes emergency landing at San Diego after laptop catches fire, 4 flyers hospitalized

The Boeing 737, with 159 passengers, made an emergency landing after the flight's crew 'reported a laptop on fire in the cabin'

SAN DEIGO, CALIFORNIA: A United Airlines flight bound for Newark Airport in New Jersey was forced to return to San Diego on Tuesday, February 7, after an external laptop battery burst into flames and left several flight attendants and passengers injured.

The Boeing 737, with 159 passengers, made an emergency landing at the California airport around 7:30 am PT after the flight's crew "reported a laptop on fire in the cabin," according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The fire allegedly broke out after the "external battery pack" of a passenger's laptop burst into flames. The flight attendants immediately threw the burning object in a fire bag and prevented the fire from spreading with onboard fire extinguishers.

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Six people were reportedly injured, four of whom were taken to the UC San Diego Medical Center, the fire department said on Twitter. All the flight employees were also rushed to the hospital as a “precaution.” The two other passengers, who declined transportation to the hospital, were treated at the scene. All other passengers and crew members aboard the plane were evaluated.

Reflecting on the incident, San Diego Airport released a statement that read, "Shortly after departure, the aircraft declared an Alert 2 which indicates a major difficulty with the aircraft, in this case, there was an electrical device fire in the cabin. The aircraft landed safely at San Diego International Airport where emergency crews responded to the aircraft and assisted passengers."

A passenger on board, who identified herself as Caroline Lipinski, described how the fire broke out in the cabin. "There was a gentleman whose bag was smoking and he threw something out on the ground. It was a battery charger or a pack from his laptop and it burst into flames," she said, according to DailyMail. Another passenger, Stephan Jones, said people immediately panicked. "Some were gasping, screaming. The guy next to me ran to the back of the plane. The flight attendants were grabbing fire extinguishers and running to the front," he told CBS News.

The scare is just the latest in a series of horrific incidents involving lithium batteries and smoke, fire, or extreme heat on flights. According to FAA data, from March 2006 to October 2022 there were 414 incidents where lithium batteries caught fire or overheated, 49 involving laptops. “There’s a concern,” said Hassan Shahidi, president, and chief executive of the Flight Safety Foundation. “We’ve seen the trend not going down because people are increasingly having more of these devices onboard.”