Cellphone battery catches fire, causes Southwest flight in Denver to evacuate; 2 injured

A cellphone battery caught fire on a Southwest flight taking off from Denver on Friday, forcing an emergency evacuation.

Southwest Airlines Flight 3316, scheduled to head to Houston, was still at the gate at Denver International Airport when the cellphone battery of one of the 108 passengers on board started a fire, a spokesperson for the airline told Paste BN.

Passengers in the back of the plane used the rear emergency slides, while those in the front of the aircraft exited through the front door, according to the spokesperson.

The flight crew managed to extinguish a seat that caught fire due to the burning cell phone, the airline said. Preliminary reports indicate that one passenger reported a minor injury during the evacuation, while the passenger whose phone caught fire is being treated for burns, according to the spokesperson.

"Southwest’s Customer Care Team is working to accommodate the passengers on another aircraft to their original destination of Houston," the airline said. "Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of its customers and employees."

Cell phone battery fires on planes becoming more frequent

The Federal Aviation Administration told CBS News that the number of lithium-ion battery fires increased by more than 42% in the last five years.

Lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable batteries that are commonly used in cell phones, laptops and tablets.

In addition to the growing number of cell phone battery fires, CBS News said the FAA's data shows that since 2021, there has been on average at least one lithium battery incident on a passenger plane in the U.S. once every week.

The FAA banned uninstalled lithium-ion metalbatteries from being inside checked-in luggage in 2020, and said instead that they must remain with passengers in their carry-on baggage.