Flight delayed by 5 hours after passenger’s phone ignites before takeoff

A Southwest Airlines flight from El Paso, Texas, to Houston was delayed by almost five hours on Wednesday after a passenger’s cellphone caught fire shortly before the planned takeoff time. Southwest Airlines flight 2112 was due to depart El Paso at 7:20 AM local time, according to the FlightAware website . In a statement to National Post, the Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate the matter. “Southwest Airlines Flight 2112 returned to its gate at El Paso International Airport in Texas around 7:50 a.m. local time on Wednesday, April 30, after the crew reported a passenger disturbance during their departure taxi,” the FAA said. “The flight was headed to Houston Hobby Airport.” Despite the agency’s statement, CBS News reported that the cause was in fact a cellphone blaze. The airline confirmed as much in a statement to National Post. “Southwest Airlines Flight 2112 returned to the gate at El Paso International Airport on April 30 after the battery inside a passenger’s cell phone apparently ignited,” the airline said. “The Flight Crew quickly extinguished (the fire) and the other passengers disembarked normally at the gate. Southwest is working with the appropriate federal and local investigative agencies.” It added: “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.” The passengers eventually left El Paso at 12:09 p.m. on a different Southwest plane, arriving in Houston at 3:01 p.m. local time after a standard flight duration. A similar incident occurred on a Southwest flight just over five months ago, when a cellphone caught fire while one of the airline’s planes was still at the gate at Denver International Airport. That flight was also headed to Houston. The AviationA2Z website reported that passengers in the rear of that aircraft evacuated using emergency slides and that one passenger suffered a minor injury during the evacuation process, while the passenger whose phone battery ignited received medical attention for burn injuries.

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