A passenger was forced to spring into action when his vape pen caught fire on a Southwest Airlines flight from San Diego to Sacramento, California on Wednesday.
According to a report by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services obtained by KTXL, the passenger was in the plane’s bathroom when his vape pen began heating up in his pocket. When he took it out, the device’s lithium battery started smoking and caught fire.
The quick-thinking passenger ran the pen underwater to put the fire out. A flight attendant then stored the device in a containment bag that was eventually handed over to the fire department upon landing in Sacramento.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
In January 2019, American Airlines flight attendants had to stomp out a fire caused by a passenger’s overheated e-cigarette battery after a flight from Las Vegas to Chicago.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) only prohibits battery-powered e-cigarettes, vaporizers, vape pens, atomizers and other electronic nicotine delivery systems from being stored in checked baggage. Travelers are allowed to carry them into the aircraft cabin via carry-on luggage or on their person but are prohibited from charging or using them onboard. Travelers, including a former WWE superstar, have learned that rule the hard way in the past.
