Overview
- A laptop battery caught fire in the mid‑cabin of American Airlines Flight 2398, which departed Atlanta with about 133 people on board before landing at Dallas‑Fort Worth.
- Flight crews used a thermal containment bag to isolate the device and the plane taxied to the gate where emergency responders met the aircraft.
- The pilot told air traffic control that four to five passengers may have been burned, but DFW airport officials said one person was treated at the scene and released.
- The FAA warns lithium‑ion batteries can enter sudden 'thermal runaway' from damage or defects and has recorded roughly 56 similar passenger‑device incidents so far this year.
- Authorities say the immediate emergency is over and an investigation into the device and injuries is expected, a development that could affect rules on how batteries are carried and packed on flights.