A commercially available iPhone caused trouble on British Airways flight BA30 on September 2020, 206, which, according to the investigation report by the British accident investigators, was a little squashed in the seat and caught fire. This was quickly contained by the crew so that neither passengers nor the Boeing 787-9 were harmed.

The investigators were particularly concerned with the question of why the iPhone caught fire without any apparent action. Apparently the design of the so-called premium seats played a decisive role. These have significantly more "small parts" on which cell phones can be crushed. The passenger's iPhone should have fallen out of his pocket and it then found its way into the armchair's mechanics. The next time it was moved, it was accidentally crushed and caught fire.

Accident report positively emphasizes professional behavior of the crew

Flight BA206 took off from Miami Airport for London Heathrow on the evening of September 30, 2020. At around 8:00 a.m. the following day, the crew noticed during the voyage that smoke was rising from a first-class seat. All measures that are often trained in training were initiated immediately. This prevented the iPhone fire from having serious consequences.

After the flight attendants put out the fire, the third pilot inspected the situation and reported to the captain. He then decided that there was no danger and that the journey could continue. The Boeing 787-9 with the registration G-ZBFK was about 35 minutes from London at this time. Nevertheless, a so-called pan call was placed. The accident investigators rate the crew's approach as “professional and correct”. The attention of the cabin crew and the immediate intervention by means of a fire extinguisher nipped a theoretically possible catastrophe in the bud. The captain's decision was also classified as "correct". As a precaution, the fire brigade took a close look at the Dreamliner on the ground, but fortunately they were able to give the all-clear.