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American Airlines flight diverts after passenger device causes fire onboard

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American Airlines flight diverts after passenger device causes fire onboard
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Robert D. Isom, CEO and President | American Airlines

An American Airlines Airbus A321-200 operating flight AA357 from Philadelphia to Phoenix diverted to Washington Dulles International Airport on August 23 following an in-flight fire caused by a passenger's device. The aircraft, carrying 160 passengers and six crew members, landed safely less than an hour after departure.

American Airlines confirmed the incident, stating: "American Airlines flight 357 landed safely at Washington Dulles following reports of smoke from a customer’s device. The device was quickly contained by crew members prior to landing. Customers and crew deplaned normally. We appreciate the professionalism of our crew and thank our team who are working to get our customers to their destination as quickly as possible."

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has opened an investigation into the occurrence. In recent years, there has been a rise in incidents involving lithium battery fires on board aircraft, often due to thermal runaway when batteries overheat. Similar diversions have occurred before; for example, last month a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 diverted because of a comparable issue.

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Passengers described tense moments during the event. Adriana Novello told ABC News that she woke up when a flight attendant jumped onto her seat for a fire extinguisher. "I started smelling smoke, and a lot of people on the plane were coughing. I looked behind me, and what we could tell was that there was something on fire in the aisle," Novello said.

After landing at Dulles just before midday, emergency services met the aircraft and assisted with disembarkation and inspection of the affected device.

The Airbus A321-200 involved (registration N558UW) is about 13 years old and previously flew for US Airways before joining American Airlines’ fleet in 2015. According to industry data sources such as ch-aviation and aeroLOPA, this model typically seats 170 economy class passengers—with some extra legroom seats—and 20 first class passengers.

To accommodate disrupted travelers, American Airlines rebooked them onto other flights from Washington DC to Phoenix. The aircraft remained grounded at Dulles for nearly one day before repositioning to Phoenix on August 24.

American Airlines operates one of the largest fleets of A321-200s globally and maintains major hubs including Philadelphia International Airport—where AA357 originated—and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport—its intended destination.

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