Olde Hornet
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The Real Reason You Can’t Retrieve Your Phone if It Falls Between Your Airplane Seat
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While most flight attendants do their best to make sure all passengers have a comfortable flight, asking for help isn’t a suggestion to keep passengers from exerting themselves. Cell phones pose a serious safety threat if not handled with care on airplanes.
What’s the Danger?
If a cell phone gets stuck between seats on some airplanes, it may catch fire.“Mobile phones have lithium batteries, which are notorious for being flammable and explosive,” says Duke Armitage, an airline pilot and founder of Aviamonde.
While airlines aren’t usually concerned about cell phones spontaneously catching fire, Armitage explains that “seat mechanisms may accidentally crush the phone if a passenger attempts to retrieve it.” This can cause the cell phone to overheat and catch fire. Although some passengers may disregard a flight attendant’s warning and attempt to retrieve their phone, that mistake could disrupt the entire flight or worse. “The risk is real and documented,” Armitage says.
If a phone falls between the flight seats, don’t panic.