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.