After a global Galaxy Note 7 recall over exploding batteries Samsung allegedly fixed the issue, but a replacement unit just caught fire on a Southwest Airlines plane.
Samsung just put the Galaxy Note 7 back on sale globally after the whole recall fiasco, but the phablet is still having issues. Southwest Airlines flight 944, travelling from Louisville to Baltimore, was evacuated on Wednesday morning because of a replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 that caught fire.
The plane was still at the gate when the incident occurred and all crew members and passengers exited via the main cabin door. No one was injured, according to a Southwest Airlines spokesperson who spoke with The Verge.
As previously mentioned, the Galaxy Note 7 unit that caught fire on the plane was a replacement unit, which means that Samsung had allegedly fixed the issues that caused the phone to overheat and catch fire. The replacement unit had Samsung's stamp of approval that it was safe, complete with the black square symbol that denotes a replacement Galaxy Note 7 unit and Green indicating that it had a green battery icon.
Brian Green, the owner of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in question, told The Verge that he had picked up his replacement phone on Sept. 21, from an AT&T store. After boarding the plane, he powered off the device as instructed and placed it in his pocket when it started smoking.
Green dropped the device on the floor of the plane and says a "thick grey-green angry smoke" started coming out. Eventually, the phone burned through the carpet and even burned the subfloor of the plane.
According to Green, the replacement Galaxy Note 7 had roughly 80 percent battery life when it started smoking and burning. Green says he only used a wireless charger to juice up the device.
The Galaxy Note 7 unit at fault here should theoretically have no issues whatsoever, and even checking it with Samsung's IMEI tool retrieves a "Great News" message, meaning that it's not included in the recall.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is now officially available worldwide again, presumably free of overheating issues and exploding batteries, but it seems that at least some units are still having issues.
Southwest Airlines canceled its flight and rebooked passengers on later flights, while the replacement Galaxy Note 7 that evacuated the plane is now in custody for investigation at the arson unit of the Louisville Fire Department.
Samsung has yet to issue a statement on the matter. Green, meanwhile, has already replaced the faulty smartphone with an iPhone 7.
