Air China flight CA139, an Airbus A321-232 from Hangzhou, China was enroute to Seoul when smoke started coming out of an overhead bin. Then flames appeared. This was the result of a lithium-ion battery in a passenger’s carry-on bag that had gone into thermal runaway.
Flight attendants initiated emergency fire procedures. They retrieved fire extinguishers, opened the affected bin cautiously, and doused the burning luggage while instructing passengers to remain seated. Smoke spread briefly through the cabin but was contained before it reached hazardous levels.
The pilots declared an emergency and diverted the flight to Shanghai Pudong where the aircraft landed safely. Fire crews met the plane on arrival, and passengers disembarked without injury. Air China arranged a replacement aircraft for travelers continuing to Seoul.
Battery fire forced #AirChina flight #CA139 (#Hangzhou–#Incheon) to make emergency landing in #Shanghai today. The flight diverted to Pudong Airport after a lithium battery in overhead luggage self-ignited. No injuries reported. pic.twitter.com/nwQdEnEt6H
— Shanghai Daily (@shanghaidaily) October 18, 2025
Breaking ! เที่ยวบิน CA139 ของ Air China เส้นทางหางโจว-โซล เกิดไฟลุกไหม้ในที่เก็บสัมภาระเหนือศีรษะ
นักบินต้องตัดสินใจลงจอดฉุกเฉินที่สนามบินเซี่ยงไฮ้ ผู่ตง ท่ามกลางความตกใจของผู้โดยสารบนเครื่อง
ล่าสุด สายการบินชี้แจง ต้นเพลิงมาจากพาวเวอร์แบงค์ที่อยู่ในสัมภาระของผู้โดยสาร pic.twitter.com/IUCM4AGFgY
— ️ CHERSAN SRISATJANG ✈️ (@RonallChersan) October 18, 2025
Fire breaks out in the overhead luggage bin on board Air China flight CA139 while flying between Hangzhou and Seoul.
It is understood that the cause of the fire was a lithium battery in a passenger's luggage spontaneously combusting.
The cabin crew contained the fire and the… pic.twitter.com/IV5LEYxIy5
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) October 18, 2025
Electronics fires are usually fully manageable when they occur inside the passenger cabin of an aircraft, but not as manageable when they occur inside the cargo hold of a plane. That’s why a generation of ‘smart’ suitcases were been banned even as carry on bags, since there’s always the chance a carry on with an un-removable battery might have to be checked.
This is why it was such a dangerous idea when the federal government sought to ban electronics in the passenger cabin in 2017, requiring customers to check them as baggage instead. Those fires might not get contained.
U.S. airlines board fire containment bags and heat resistant gloves on aircraft. That way when electronic devices catch fire they can deal with it. Once the electronics that caught fire is isolated, the fire containment bag gets stored in a metal cart in the galley, to be retrieved when the aircraft lands. Several world airlines, including Southwest Airlines, now requires that passengers keep portable charging devices in plain sight.
Glad they managed this as best as they could, limiting the damage and harm to those passengers. Keep those batteries out of cargo hold, for sure.
When I hear about fires onboard, I immediately think of Saudia flight 163 (1980), which was not as fortunate; that incident was on an L-10-11, but they delayed the evacuation, and sadly, all 301 died in that one.
Safety is serious stuff.
It is only a matter of time until one of the checked bags has a lithium battery and it ignites in an over-water flight. Let us all hope that this never happens, but even the best-designed systems can fail.
Ed Sparks58
You cannot extinguish these battery fires. Just contain until they burn out. The fire extinguisher was useless, but I assume the FA didn’t know that at first.