How YOUR phone or laptop could bring down a plane
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Passengers are being warned not to pack mobile phones and laptops in their checked luggage - after experts warn they could be fire hazards.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has reported an increase in incidents involving lithium batteries.
CASA say the batteries - found in a lot of personal electronic goods - have the potential to short circuit and burn under certain conditions, and the preference is to have spare batteries carried in the cabin.
CASA aviation safety director John McCormick told news.com.au: 'Cabin crew and flight crew are specifically trained in the management and handling of dangerous goods incidents in the aircraft cabin, including those caused by lithium battery fires, and can respond quickly if an incident arises.'
The warning echoes those issued by other regulators after the batteries were implicated in the crash of a UPS freighter in Dubai last September and suspicions about an Asiana Airlines Boeing 747 crash last week
The US Federal Aviation Administration logged 113 incidents involving batteries and smoke, fire or extreme heat between 1991 and last year.
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