There has been yet another laptop-related incident on a United Airlines flight after one of the airline’s Europe-bound Boeing 767s had to turn back and land in Newark. The transatlantic flight, which had departed from Washington en route to Geneva, diverted after a laptop slipped through a gap in the cabin and fell into the cargo hold.

Two other almost identical incidents have happened onboard United aircraft in the past few months, and all occurred on Boeing 767s in the Polaris business class cabin. Personal devices powered by lithium batteries pose a significant risk if left unattended, particularly if they are damaged from being dropped, forcing pilots to divert to the nearest suitable airport.

Third United Laptop Incident In As Many Months

As first reported by PYOK, United Flight 748 from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) to Geneva Airport (GVA) on Thursday became the third UA aircraft in recent months to divert due to a rogue laptop. The incident once again took place in the Polaris business cabin, where there is a thin gap between the seats and cabin wall usually plugged with a strip of foam. However, some business class passengers are apparently storing their belongings in this area, and laptops are sufficiently heavy enough to fall through the gap, particularly during bumpy moments.

Data from Flightradar24 shows that the Boeing 767 was set for a seven-hour journey to Switzerland before making a sharp U-turn less than an hour into the trip. The flight departed Washington Dulles around 20 minutes later than scheduled at 5:45 PM, with the aircraft recorded changing its course at around 6:40 PM before landing at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) just after 8:00 PM. In all, the flight was in the air for approximately two hours and 20 minutes.

A United Airlines spokesperson told Simple Flying,

« United flight 748 safely landed in Newark Liberty International Airport as a precaution to retrieve a customer’s laptop that had fallen behind a cabin wall panel and through a small gap leading to the cargo hold. Maintenance crews retrieved the laptop, inspected the aircraft, and the flight later departed for Geneva. »

Can Anything Be Done To Stop This?

The gap in the cabin wall leads directly to the aircraft’s cargo hold, which is where the laptop ended up falling into. Due to its inaccessible location, an unattended lithium-powered laptop is considered a significant enough threat to flight safety to necessitate an immediate diversion. Although the chances of a battery fire are still slim, the risk is higher if the battery has sustained damage from being dropped.

As the third such incident in as many months, United will have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in total diversion costs. Back in October, another United 767 was headed to Rome out of Washington when it turned back after a Polaris passenger’s laptop fell into the hold. Then, in November, a UA flight from London to Washington diverted to Dublin after a laptop fell between an armrest and cabin wall.

All three incidents happened onboard one of the airline’s 767 aircraft, so it may want to rethink how it plugs the cabin gap moving forward. Its current solution of installing foam padding as a barrier may be effective for smaller items, such as mobile phones or wallets, but does not seem to be strong enough to stop a heavy, thin object like a laptop.

Dangers Of Thermal Runaway

Thermal runaway is the chain-reaction process that happens when a lithium battery overheats. Once this is initiated, it can be very difficult to contain the subsequent fire, although commercial aircraft now carry special kits designed specifically for battery fires.

Several onboard fires have occurred in recent years, the majority involving faulty power banks, which has prompted a change in rules. Earlier this month, an Asiana Airlines passenger suffered burns to their hand after their power bank caught fire.

Many airlines are now banning power banks from being stored in overhead bins (as well as in the hold), with passengers now asked to keep power banks on their person, and not to use them onboard. There are even calls for power banks to be outright banned from passenger aircraft in any capacity given their safety risk.