Laptop causes evacuation of American Airlines flight in San Francisco

"RIGHT NOW: An American Airlines flight was evacuated and three people were injured after a reported cabin fire at San Francisco International Airport on Friday," reported Suzanne Phan (@SuzannePhan).

"UPDATE: Three minor injuries were reported after an American Airlines plane at San Francisco International Airport was evacuated due to a fire in the cabin," stated NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea).

According to an American Airlines spokesperson, "During boarding of American Airlines flight 2045 with service from San Francisco (SFO) to Miami (MIA), smoke was reported from inside a customer’s bag. The bag was quickly removed by our crew members and all customers exited the aircraft. We thank our crew members for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience."

While lithium-ion batteries catching fire is uncommon, it can usually be contained in the passenger cabin but poses more difficulty as cargo. This risk is why airlines prohibit such batteries in checked luggage.

The aircraft would have had fire containment bags and heat-resistant gloves on board specifically for dealing with electronic device fires, typically stored in an aft galley cart. In-flight incidents involving such fires can be addressed using these tools.

In 2017, when laptops were banned from some U.S.-bound flights requiring them to be checked, it created significant risk since managing this type of fire is easier in the passenger cabin than in cargo.