Another reminder not to leave lithium batteries in your checked luggage

A potentially serious incident on an Air China flight on the weekend is a reminder to never pack the lithium TOSHIBA Satellite M55 AC Adapter  battery commonly found in computers and ‘smart’ phones in your checked luggage.

It is also a reminder that the Qantas and Virgin Australia rules that permit lithium Sony Vgp-bps2 Battery carriage in checked luggage ought to be abolished and replaced with a ban, because at present no inspections to enforce them take place, with the airlines relying instead on a tick the box declaration in the dangerous goods section of the check-in processes, something which is totally useless.

In the China incident a lithium-ion Dell Inspiron 1420 Battery -pack in a passenger’s camera caught fire in an overhead bin in the Airbus A330 while it was flying between Beijing and Shanghai.

The incident ended well, in that the cabin crew searched for the source of a smell of burning, and found the camera just as it burst into flames said in media reports to have been 20 cms high, and bundled it into a toilet where the risk of ALL of the cells in Hp Pavilion dv7 Battery pack burning or exploding was removed by following the procedures airlines have for extinguishing lithium fires.

But it might have been a very different and tragic story had the camera batteries experienced what is known as a thermal runaway inside checked luggage stowed in the hold.

Both types of lithium CREATIVE DAA-BA0005 battery, the li-ion packs that are rechargeable, and the non-rechargeable straight lithium type, pose fire hazards that can be readily handled in a cabin rather than under it.

In this video the US Federal Aviation Administration deals with the lithium-ion Canon Ixus 1000hs battery hazards and the very specific ways in which the risks of igniting the other Fujifilm Np-120 Battery typically found in such power sources can be reduced by prompt action.

Now, ask yourself. Have you ever had your luggage on a flight in Australia examined for compliance with the lithium Panasonic Nv-gs27 Battery carriage rules as shown below on the Qantas and Virgin Australia websites? Of course not.

And also ask yourself. Do you ever read the dangerous goods declarations in details? Do you have any idea what the current Qantas and Virgin Australia restrictions on packed and checked lithium Two Way Radio Batteries mean, or how you would determine if your Acer Extensa 505 Battery complied?

The risk of a lithium Canon EOS 500D Charger battery fire in a passenger jet hold is almost entirely avoidable if their carriage in personal luggage is banned. It’s such a simple thing to do, especially if it is done before rather than after a disaster.
Comments (9) | Permalink
8 Comments Tremere
Posted May 30, 2011 at 11:52 am | Permalink
Australia Post prohibits sending lithium ion Toshiba pa3166u-1brs Battery  (including electronic devices that have them installed) overseas basically because ensuring adherence to these rules is too hard, though overseas postal services will happily send them to Australia.

The guidelines FedEx and other cargo carriers have are that they must survive any drops or pressure that are put them as well.
Brizben
Posted May 30, 2011 at 12:45 pm | Permalink
Most local carriers state that Sony Vgn-b3vp Battery must be removed before posting.
Bogdanovist
Posted May 30, 2011 at 12:49 pm | Permalink
I light hearted look at the issue http://xkcd.com/651/
Phil Aynsley
Posted May 30, 2011 at 1:03 pm | Permalink
Well as a photographer who flies a bit, actually I do know what my various Sony DSC-HX1 Charger batteries are rated at.

Canon 1Ds MkIII Li-Ion Canon Powershot a3000 Is battery (which will be bigger than 95% of most people’s canon camera batteries) = 25wh

2011 MacBookAir = 35wh

You have to be using some pretty serious gear to have 100wh plus Nikon Coolpix s6 battery. I think even TV cameras use Kodak Klic-7001 Battery under 160wh.
michael r james
Posted May 30, 2011 at 1:28 pm | Permalink
Ben, you are not seriously suggesting that this is more important than searching rigorously for those master terrorist tools, nail clippers?

Once I held up the line for about 15 minutes because the security checker was adamant I had something dangerous in my little toileteries bag because his wand detected it. Eventually he found a small nail clipper that had slipped into the bag lining–probably had been there for years but had avoided detection by maybe dozens of previous searches.
Bill Parker
Posted May 30, 2011 at 3:24 pm | Permalink
Well, I can tell everyone (that has a need to know) that an aerosol can of shaving cream WITHOUT its cap is verboten. With its cap? OK.

If depression did occur, the worse case scenario is a damp, aromatic interior of the zip bag and a useless toothbrush. Not much of a risk. And I havent yet found a way of charging my trusty Macbook whilst airborne in cattle class on a 767.
johnc47
Posted May 30, 2011 at 4:42 pm | Permalink
So as a fare paying passenger, in which later this year everyone self checked their baggage (obviously aware of their personal Lithium Dell Precision m6400 Battery ….), am I enabled to question the Captain (Pilot in Command) of the flight, see previous article about Safety regulations (91.060 5 d), and request him to prove that the flight will be safe from Lithium Motorola GP340 battery issues?

And if not request to get off the aircraft and seek a refund as the carrier can not assure my safety in relation to this specific regulation, which as a concerned consumer no longer wish to take a risk on this basis.

I cant argue the legal point post the fire and creater; I should have the right to require the service provider to assure/prove the risk isn’t real and if they cant let me off and be refunded my fare and re-imbursed for the incovenience.
comet
Posted May 30, 2011 at 9:23 pm | Permalink
You might remember from your high schoolr science class, that piece of lithium smoking and fizzing wildly in the tray. The stuff is highly unstable.

Imagine if this had happened on Qantas’ long -haul flight to South Africa, passing over Antarctica,, thousands of kilometers from any airport.

I recently watched à television crew check in a large number of super sized lithium cells onto a: Qantas flight. They needed so many.cells to power their broadcast equipment
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