Summary
A. At first I could find nothing on the Air Canada website or other airline sites that specifically identified units like the one you carried. My first clue was from a travel products website that sells these products. At the end of its promotion message it footnoted a statement which read "Please check with your airline's current carry-on restrictions." This led me to a search of back issues of a publication entitled Aviation Safety and Security Digest. In its June 2007 issue it featured a lengthy article relating to passenger carry-on battery-powered items. It described an actual incident which occurred on a Continental Airlines flight from Houston to Portland in December 2006 when the captain was forced to declare an emergency. Four flight attendants and two passengers received hospital treatment for smoke inhalation; one of the passengers was treated for chest burns. Two seat cushions and covers were destroyed in the fire. The culprit? A battery-operated personal air purifier worn around the neck by the passenger whose chest was burned. The burn victim, in describing what had happened, said there was a bang and a flash of light and smoke started coming from the device. Luckily, quick-thinking nearby passengers helped douse the fire with water until the flight attendant finished it off with a Halon fire extinguisher. Devices like this, as described in the product sales website, use a CR123 lithium battery. I am sure it is events like this one that led to a re-evaluation of which batteries we can take with us, and how they should be stored if they are allowed.
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Be Careful with Battery-Powered Carry-Ons
Airline may ban use of air filters; always check rules beforehand
Ask Journeys / Ron PradinukOCCASIONALLY a policy by an airline can sound unreasonable at first glance. The policy can take on added annoyance if the flight attendant seems to overrea...See the full content of this document
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