Alerts Sign-up
Battery thermal-runaway incidents on aircraft reached a five-year high in 2023, with e-cigarettes leading the causes, according to a report by the nonprofit UL Standards and Engagement (ULSE). The findings were reported by the Tobacco Reporter.
ULSE initiated its Thermal Runaway Incident Program (TRIP), which collects voluntary incident reports from its 35-member group of passenger and cargo airlines.
The report indicated that thermal runaway episodes involving lithium-ion batteries increased by 28% from 2019 to 2023, averaging two incidents per week reported to the TRIP database. On average, airline passengers bring four rechargeable devices on board each flight, with smartphones being the most common at 87%. Other frequently carried devices include wireless headphones or earbuds, tablets, and e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes accounted for 35% of reported incidents during the data collection period.
