Alaska Airlines flight evacuated in Seattle after passenger’s cellphone catches fire

Alaska Airlines evacuated passengers from one of its planes after a cellphone caught fire at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport on Monday.

Flight 751 from New Orleans was evacuated after a passenger’s phone “overheated and began sparking,” a company spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday.

The plane was waiting at the gate after landing when the phone caught fire. The flight crew used a battery containment bag and fire extinguisher to put it out.

The 129 passengers and six crew members had to be evacuated due to “hazy” conditions from the smoke.

Passengers slid down an evacuation slide that had been deployed.

Two passengers were taken to the hospital for treatment while the rest were taken by bus to the terminal.

The airport tweeted about the incident, saying “only minor scrapes and bruises” were reported during the incident.

The plane was towed to the gate and the airport’s operations were not affected by the situation.

Passengers were transported by bus to the terminal, some with minor injuries. The aircraft was towed to a gate and there were no impacts to airport operations. (2/2)

— Seattle-Tacoma Intl. Airport (@flySEA) August 24, 2021