An Air China flight diverted after a fire broke out in the overhead bin. Fortunately there were no injuries, but one certainly wonders when an incident like this will have catastrophic implications.
The plane took off at 9:47AM local time, and climbed up to its cruising altitude of 33,000 feet. However, once at cruise, a battery stowed in a passenger’s carry-on bag caught fire. We’re not just talking about a little bit of smoke, but a full blown fire with big flames and black smoke.
The crew managed to contain the fire, and the flight diverted to Shanghai (PVG), located just 103 miles from Hangzhou. The plane landed there at 11:05AM local time, 1hr18min after it first departed. The airline ended up rebooking passengers on another Airbus A321, with the registration code B-6883, and passengers traveled to their destination with a delay of around five hours.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
