Bag explodes at Chicago airport

www.msn.com...

checked suitcase exploded while being loaded onto Volaris flight at Midway.

it was run over by the luggage, bomb squad was called and clear airport; it wasn't evacuated.

CPD said it were probably cell battery or charger. which violate TSA policy in checked bags, so cell battery and charger should go in carry on?

what about same with laptop?

wonder will passenger be fined?

Major issues with "high tech" batteries and chargers !!!

Where's OSHA when we need them ? 😃

originally posted by: vnski
www.msn.com...
checked suitcase exploded while being loaded onto Volaris flight at Midway.
it was run over by the luggage, bomb squad was called and clear airport; it wasn't evacuated.

Who was the suitcase run over to? To the bomb squad?

No. No. No.

How the F Does a CUSTOMER'S CHECKED BAGGAGE GET RUN OVER BY A LUGGAGE VEHICLE?


" bag being loaded onto an airplane at Midway Airport exploded after it was run over by a luggage vehicle, according to Chicago police.
The bag was being loaded into Volaris Flight 943 around 12:15 p.m."

NO. The bag was NOT being loaded into Volaris Flight 943 at 12:15.
Apparently, the bag was being RUN OVER by a "LUGGAGE VEHICLE"
Absolute savagery. Fire the person that dropped it on the tarmac. Fire the driver of the luggage vehicle.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Absolute braindead situation.

a reply to: Archivalist

Thanks for clarifying! If the bag had not been run over, the phone battery would not have exploded. Probably thousands of phones/batteries are flying safely over the country every day.

haha ur rant remind me of an NCIS episode where deeds(?) stall plane by knock over bags from luggage cart.

suppose bag can fall off while luggage vehicle moving and run over it while bussing to plane cargo connect?

a reply to: vnski

This from the news report, very confusing.

"(CBS) — A bag being loaded onto an airplane at Midway Airport exploded after it was run over by a luggage vehicle, according to Chicago police. The bag was being loaded into Volaris Flight 943 around 12:15 p.m. No injuries or damage to the plane have been reported."

Was the bag being loaded after it was 'run over' to the plane by the luggage vehicle or was it actually run over by the vehicle. The second sentence seems to mean the bag was actually being loaded into Volaris Flight 943.

Kind regards,

Bally

originally posted by: xuenchen
Major issues with "high tech" batteries and chargers !!!

Where's OSHA when we need them ? 😃

It's strange, batteries just just explode by themselves, they need some sort of interaction to short, if they're just by themselves. And since when do chargers explode?

I have no idea how these things happen anyway. When I flew from Sydney to LAX, I was searched, scanned, searched, scanned, finger printed, photographed, searched, scanned, searched, scanned and they even tried to confiscate my snow globe present because it had more than the allowed amount of a liquid or something, who knows, but...

maybe I just look like I'm about to blow # up, like I'd die because I hate people that much, or something....

I miss the duty free store.. so much cheap alcohol.

originally posted by: Archivalist
No. No. No.

How the F Does a CUSTOMER'S CHECKED BAGGAGE GET RUN OVER BY A LUGGAGE VEHICLE?

Ohhh it was actually run over???

*taps nose* Must be something going on!!

insanity.. things are likely to go wrong if you run them over. And yes, how does this even happen? Should be more an investigation into the workers there, than "zomg, it exploded!"

originally posted by: gallop

originally posted by: Archivalist
No. No. No.

How the F Does a CUSTOMER'S CHECKED BAGGAGE GET RUN OVER BY A LUGGAGE VEHICLE?

Ohhh it was actually run over???

*taps nose* Must be something going on!!

insanity.. things are likely to go wrong if you run them over. And yes, how does this even happen? Should be more an investigation into the workers there, than "zomg, it exploded!"

It's a mine field out there mate! If a bag falls off the luggage train call the Bomb Squad. I was in Darwin once and was catching a flight to A/Springs. Just finished a vessel Navigation Course. Woops, my expensive brass and pointed calipers/protractor for chart plotting were picked up. Almost held the domestic flight up with being put through the wringer.

Lost those to the security.

lol.

Bally

fearsome weapon too!

originally posted by: vnski
...so cell battery and charger should go in carry on?

Yes, the reminder of that is part of the ticket purchase and check in processes.

a reply to: bally001

Haha, damn... hope you got reimbursed.

I thought it was bad enough losing my guitar capo over the insanity of people asking me "What's this in your bag, sir?" repeatedly.. I just tossed it, the fear of it all got to me.

Never been up north, though there was a time long ago I was going to be based in offshore navigation stations for ONS. 3-6 months on an island.. me mate got the job instead. came back missing his Wilson. lol Never known someone to give seagulls names.. and the lizard he fed.

And worse! the only way he could get piss was to bribe passersby who had boats, and a carton cost him $130.. dry islands are no joke..

.. gone a bit off the rails there, I blame the copious amounts of liquid sustenance I've been forced to imbibe. again. Oo

Slainte Bally !!!

a reply to: vnski

"Probably?"

When something explodes on an airfield ramp it should be determined "exactly" what the cause was!!

a reply to: vnski

...so cell battery and charger should go in carry on?

Battery, yes. Charger, not so much. Chargers won't catch fire with no batteries in them.

The reason for this is two-fold. LiON batteries burn for quite a while. In the cabin this fire can be extinguished and/or controlled. In a baggage hold, not so much.

a reply to: gallop

Yes, the batteries need to be shorted. However, the reason they catch fire is not why many think. It's not from the spark of the short. It's actually because LiON batteries don't like to be discharged too rapidly. Doing so makes the electrolyte inside the battery get very hot and combust. Simple stuff like pocket change can cause it. So, everyone throws all their misc. stuff in a plastic bag, and that LiON battery touches a metallic tube of tooth paste, or a ruptured bottle of liquid...FIRE!

The other reason LiON batteries catch fire is from being over-charged. This is why it is recommended to charge LiON batteries inside of a fireproof bag specially designed to limit the damage from LiON fires.

No, the chargers (alone) do not catch fire, unless they have batteries in them. However, the problem is, some people have used auxiliary power bricks to charge their vape devices and other LiON powered devices. If they load this set up into a checked bag while connected it can over-charge the LiON battery during flight and ignite. Hence the ruling about chargers.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

That's what I was thinking also. I know the batteries need to be shorted (as with those people who blow up vaping, when it's really not taking care of their batteries, or keeping spares in their pockets with other metal things) and .. Ohh I've seen enough BigClive.com on youtube to know how ripping apart a battery can result in a small fire..

One moment please.. he's a craic..

I'd considered a battery pack also.. but from the article it wasn't mentioned.. not a lot was.

But at the end of the day, you run over a battery that is known to not like suddenly being exposed to air, and it explodes, it's not really a breaking news thing.

"News at 11. Someone started a fire, and exploded a can of petrol. Police are investigating why the petrol exploded."



Cheers mate (ps, love your recipes)

a reply to: gallop

This is a bit dated, but one of the other things I learned about LiON batteries is there's only about two companies who make the popular 18650 batteries, yet there are hundreds of companies selling them. So what these other companies are doing is re-branding them, but here's the catch...

Many people don't realize the plastic coating (which also serves as the label) on an 18650 battery is serving as an electrical insulator. The actual battery case itself is metal, and if you look carefully there is a very small gap between the positive terminal on one end of the battery and the case, unlike say a 'D' cell battery which has a prominent nipple which sticks up on the positive end. The 18650 isn't like this, it's just flat.

So, what happens is, if these companies re-selling and re-branding these batteries don't put the insulation on properly (as poor quality control could easily allow) then it doesn't take much at all to short one of these batteries out. It doesn't take a big wire running from the positive terminal to the bottom of the battery, all it takes is just a 1/8" piece of metal to span the gap between the positive terminal and the supposedly insulated case immediately adjacent to it.

A regular small battery has two metal ends, one positive and one negative. These are separated by a case which has been insulated by (usually) a paper or non-conductive material. So to short out a regular battery you would have to run current from one end to the other, unlike an 18650 battery which only requires current across the gap on one end.

I found that interesting and informative.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

It is, and also a bit scary. I have a number of 18650's from many things.. My samsung vape batteries, to the ones I got with the mod, to a few I extracted from an old laptop, all probably need re-wrapping.

But on their own, they're not going to ignite. They still need to be in contact with something, or as you said, exposed via bieng broken (driving over them can facilitate this).

I swear these things do scare me, interestingly enough. Even putting them in the charger, I get the fear.

I had a pen vape a few years ago, that used a usb charger to charger up, and one night I smelled a noticeable electric smell, the sort you get before the magic smoke.. I quickly unplugged it, but it was simply boiling hot, impossible to touch. And this, mind you, was encased in a solid metal enclosure. My mind raced as to how bad it could be.. I threw it out the window and.. nothing, thankfully... next day it was completely dead, but I think i caught it in time.

So while scary, I can't imagine them effortlessly exploding in your pocket, bag, carry on, unless really being told to, or.. just haphazardly treated.. I think... Hope I never find out !!

*explodes in a plume of tiramisu flavour*

ETA - you gotta live a big sexually bizarre (so we think) weird Scottish bloke who just hacks into things to see what happens inside..

originally posted by: vnski
www.msn.com...
CPD said it were probably cell battery or charger. which violate TSA policy in checked bags, so cell battery and charger should go in carry on?
what about same with laptop?
wonder will passenger be fined?

it's pretty common knowledge that batteries are not allowed in checked luggage. and must be in your carry on. not so well known is there are also limits on how powerful a battery may be to even be allowed on an aircraft at all. as well as limits on how many batteries you may have. many modern rechargeable batteries are fire hazards, especially those found in electronics such as cellphones and computers, as well as electric car batteries. for many of them all it takes to cause a fire or explosion is to overheat, such as a short circuit or overcharging. as well as being broken (such as when run over), exposing the insides to the air and/or water. people might not remember, since so many people have such short memories (like just what i s in the currant news cycle), but not all that long ago there was a valid concern that NO cellphones, tablets, or laptop computers, or anything else using rechargeable batteries such as most cameras, would be allowed on passenger aircraft at all. this was after the Samsung Galaxy note 7 i believe it was, caught fire or at least started smoking on an aircraft. this did in fact cause pretty much every airline to ban at least that phone, if not every Samsung phone. and there was talk at that time of banning everything else with rechargeable batteries at that time.

if anyone has paid attention there have been many, many reports o f things like cellphones catching fire or exploding. one such report was some idiot actually biting the battery (why someone would do that i don't know). many doing the same in people's pockets. or catching fire, smoking or exploding while charging. and even a few on aircraft doing things such as smoking, or on fire in aircraft. not to mention all the Tesla cars that have had battery fires, (seems Tesla has fire issues, their cars and their solar panels both are fire hazards). heck a cheap cellphone i bought last year actually had an overheat warning system due to this. the fact is the more powerful our devices become, thus having more powerful batteries, the more risk of fire and explosions of their batteries seems to be.

and guess what. they also at least recommend ALL electronics be carried in your carry on. although that is more due to theft and damage from the typical luggage mishandling from those involved in the baggage handling. but also due to safety concerns. one of the funniest things i have ever taken on an aircraft was a computer joystick. every single security check, had to check it out. and that made sense when i saw it on the x-ray. what does a joystick look like? a solid cylindrical, and long object with many wires going to it (solid bar shaft for the handgrip, and wires for firing buttons). seriously it looks like it could be an explosive device. the other half of the fun. never play an aircraft simulator on an aircraft. i was getting some awfully scared looks from people who seemed to think i was taking over the aircraft. on one flight i was told by the flight attendant i had to stop playing because i was scaring the passengers. and the truth is lots of electronics devices can be confused for explosive devices due to al the wires and solid spots. this is why you almost always have to take laptops and sometimes cellphones and tablets out so they can be scanned separately. batteries and hard drives tend to show as solid devices just as explosive substances like C-4 would show. and i'm not sure how it is right now, but not too long ago you had to be sure that the batteries in laptops and tablets/phones had to be charged, so that they could "test" the item to make sure it actually functioned, and was not a bomb. the same reason they randomly swab computers for explosives. because the truth is you could easily make a bomb that looks like a computer or other electronic device. another fun one is putting a bowling ball in your suitcase, you are pretty much guaranteed that your luggage will get back to you with a "we searched your luggage" card in it. as they have swabbed the bowling ball for explosives and drugs.

heck in some places you are not even allowed to have a normal bic type cigarette lighter on an airplane. i have had them taken away. and any "torch" type lighter is almost always a big no, no. seriously you need to check both your airline and countries you are flying to and from for what is allowable on aircraft. and what is allowed in carry on, or in cargo. heck even in the country (even if you never leave the airport). i ran into a problem with an umbrella that had a very plastic looking "sword hilt" for a handle. i had to pay over $50 (and they don't take cash, only credit card), to put it in the general cargo after getting off an airplane in Japan. as soon as i got to the security check to let me from the airplane, to the terminal for my next flight, i was immediately pulled aside even before the actual check because of it. (speaking of which it has always struck me as odd that you have to go through security checks after getting OFF an aircraft). since Japan apparently has laws against anything that even remotely looks like, or is styled like any weapon (too bad all the signs are in Kangi that almost no non Japanese person can read) being had. not sure if just the airport, or the country. in some places, even a pocket knife (in checked luggage), is illegal to have IN their country. again, even if you are just on a layover. prescription and even over the counter drugs in one country, might be illegal in another country, and get you nailed for "drug possession", or "drug smuggling", (and i'm not talking about pot. a very popular thing to have happen crossing the American/Canadian border). some place a Bible is illegal. if you fly to or through some countries religious jewelry such as a star of david or a cross is illegal to have wear/be seen. same with some things written or drawn on clothing. in Japan it is illegal to have anything that is a knock off, copy, or pirated stuff, due to their strict copyright laws. heck, there is apparently even at least one country, where bringing in a plastic bag, is illegal

and it goes without saying that breaking any of these rules or laws could get you fined, or even imprisoned. be it airline policies, or country's laws you are breaking. and that includes even if said country is just a layover or change of aircraft.