14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung has already exchanged many Galaxy Note 7 units because of faulty batteries that caused the smartphone to catch fire while charging. But reports of other Samsung smartphones catching fire have been surfacing in the meantime.
The latest report by NDTV shows that a Galaxy Note 2 caught fire and started to smoke up the passenger cabin in the IndiGo airplane that was flying from Chennai to Singapore earlier this week. The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation stated that passengers on the flight smelled smoke from the overhead baggage bin and the cabin crew was alerted.
It seems that a Galaxy Note 2 smartphone was located in a bag in the bin and it was emitting smoke and sparks. The cabin crew used a fire extinguisher to make sure the phone didn’t start a blaze and then placed it in a container with water.
Samsung is looking into the matter and will stay in touch with authorities
Samsung officials have stated that the company is looking into the matter and that they will stay in touch with authorities during the investigation. In addition, the Directorate of Civil Aviation intends to send an advisory note to all airlines, warning them to keep Samsung Note smartphones turned off during flights or even ban the phones from commercial flights.
There haven’t been many reports of Galaxy Note 2 smartphones catching fire and the timing is certainly unfortunate for Samsung. In fact, since the recall started, there have been many cases in which Samsung phones other than the Note 7 have caught fire and caused some property damage or even injuries to owners.
Obviously, all cases are under investigation. Samsung was even sued when a Galaxy S7 edge caught fire in the pocket of its owner and caused him second and third degree burns.
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 was released in September 2012, which means that the phone could have been in use for up to 4 years, in which case the battery could have been replaced by a newer and even third-party one. The investigation into the matter will reveal if that is the case.