Australian airlines ban use of Samsung Note 7 phones after battery fires

SYDNEY - Three Australian airlines have banned passengers from using or charging Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Note 7 smartphones during flights due to concerns over the phone's fire-prone batteries.

Qantas, its budget unit Jetstar and Virgin Australia said they had not been directed to ban the use of the phone by aviation authorities, but did so as a precaution following Samsung's recall of the phones in 10 markets.

Although customers will still be able to bring the phones on flights, the ban extends to the phones being plugged in to flight entertainment systems where USB ports are available.

The recall follows reports of the 988,900 won ($885) phone igniting while charging - an embarrassing blow to Samsung, which prides itself on its manufacturing prowess and had been banking on the devices to add momentum to a recovery in its mobile business.

Samsung, the world's biggest smartphone vendor, has sold 2.5 million of the premium devices so far.

"Following Samsung Australia's recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 personal electronic device we are requesting that passengers who own them do not switch on or charge them in flight," a Qantas spokesman said in an emailed statement.

Samsung Australia said in a statement that it had liaised with Qantas and Virgin Australia following the recall.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is considering its response to the Samsung recall and "working on guidance related to this issue," according to a FAA statement quoted by technology website Gizmodo.

Airlines have previously banned hoverboards from planes due to battery-fire risks.

In February the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations' agency, banned lithium-ion batteries from checked luggage following concerns from pilots and plane makers that they are a fire risk.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

New Zealander dies while eating inflight meal

SINGAPORE (Xinhua) -- A New Zealander working in Singapore died on board a Jetstar flight to Auckland last week after apparently choking on his inflight meal, a local newspaper reported on Monday.

Robert Rippingale, 31, was heading home with his architect girlfriend Vanessa Preechakul on Monday last week when the incident happened. Meals were served shortly after the flight took off and Preechakul noticed that her boyfriend was shaking violently while eating his beef dish.

"I thought he was laughing because he was watching a movie, and I asked him what was so funny. There was no answer and he was still shaking, and it just didn't feel right," the Straits Times quoted Preechakul as saying over the phone from Rippingale's home in Auckland.

Preechakul alerted the flight attendant and one of the stewards cut off a necklace around Rippingale's neck, but that did not help. A doctor and two nurses who were on the flight quickly rushed to help as the crew moved his body into the galley. They performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him but was unable to revive him.

Rippingale was pronounced dead half an hour into the flight.

The couple, both working in Singapore, had been on their way to celebrate the 50th birthday of Rippingale's parents.

Family members said Rippingale was born with a heart defect, though they were not sure if it had been a factor in his death.

Rippingale was buried in Auckland on Saturday. Jetstar said that the cause of his death was unknown and that a coroner's inquest will be held later this month.

Source: philstar.com