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FAA considers banning the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 from flying on U.S. airlines

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ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
http://www.phonearena.com/news/FAA-...y-Note-7-from-flying-on-U.S.-airlines_id85084

As a rule, the FAA isn't in favor of allowing items on a plane that can go "boom!" The agency would prefer that airplanes stay in the sky until they slowly descend onto the runway of their destination. With that in mind, the FAA got together with the TSA and major U.S. airlines this weekend to determine whether the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 should be banned on flights.

Meanwhile, the FAA has yet to make a decision about whether to allow the Galaxy Note 7 to board a plane. Actually, what the FCC does with the device is largely up to Samsung. The manufacturer has not officially recalled the phone, as pointed out by Consumer Reports. If it decides to do so, government entities will need to get involved, and anyone selling the device can be criminally charged. If the Galaxy Note 7 is recalled, the device will not be allowed inside an aircraft whether carried by passenger or crew. The phablet will also be prohibited from entering an aircraft as carry on or checked luggage.

"The FAA and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration are working on guidance related to this issue. If the device is recalled by the manufacturer, airline crew and passengers will not be able to bring recalled batteries or electronics that contain recalled batteries in the cabin of an aircraft, or in carry-on and checked baggage."-FAA spokesman

One million Galaxy Note 7 units have been sold since the phone launched in the middle of last month. Samsung has voluntarily recalled 2.5 million units. As long as the recall remains voluntary, it is up to each airline to decide whether the phablet is allowed on board its flights. If the FCC gets involved and decides to ban the phone from flying, all U.S. airlines will be forced to follow the decision.
 

Slayer-33

Liverpool-2
Well it could potentially be a serious issue if one blew up mid flight, on board fires are no joke.
 

Onaco

Member
Shit, I have a flight in November and I'm scared of some uninformed flier engulfing the seat down the aisle in flames...
 

Averon

Member
How can battery tech still be so unreliable that we still have to deal with them exploding unexpectedly?
 

Jonnax

Member
How can battery tech still be so unreliable that we still have to deal with them exploding unexpectedly?

Because batteries are designed to store a lot of energy. They also have to be thin and light to be in a mobile phone so the density of that energy is great.

Attached to every battery is a circuit that monitors the voltage, temperature and other metrics of the battery to ensure that it doesn't get over or under charged.

If that circuitry fails then you're pretty much pumping energy into a Lithium Ion cell.
YouTube lithium fires and you can see how dangerous it can be: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojGaAGDVsCc
 

Koppai

Member
Samsung has so much money they can take a hit like this and keep moving. Can't wait for all the cheap refurbished phones :3
 

AlphaDump

Gold Member
Meanwhile, the FAA has yet to make a decision about whether to allow the Galaxy Note 7 to board a plane. Actually, what the FCC does with the device is largely up to Samsung. The manufacturer has not officially recalled the phone, as pointed out by Consumer Reports.

This is what strikes me the most out of the whole fiasco. Is this a way to avoid some kind of liability? Samsung might have made an even more fatal mistake in reporting it - given the severity.
 
What a disaster. I've got this Note 3 here and it's fantastic, I'd really like to upgrade but LOL @ the Note 7. I'm actually pretty disappointed because I wanted it to be great. Now I'm not even sure if I'll consider the Note 8.
 
Can't exactly chuck a burning battery out of the window at 30,000 ft.

No, but recalling bad batteries is a tad less a logistical nightmare than recalling entire devices.

If the Note 7 had removable batteries, the narrative moves from "The Note 7 might explode" to "The Note 7 had a batch of bad batteries at launch"

The shift in perception would of helped the recovery of the device once Samsung fixed the problem.

Now people are still going to be weary of buying a Note 7, long after all the duds have been recalled and replaced.


Regardless, I think we are seeing the end of the Note line as we know it. It's pretty much going to be forever tainted by this.
 

Mohonky

Member
whats wrong with it that it can explode?

Batteries, contrary to popular belief do not 'explode.' It's not like it goes off like a grenade in your pocket.

They do however go up in flames; very hot ones, very quickly. Everything required to actually cause something to combust is actually housed within these batteries, so yeh, once they go up, that's it, they keep going until they burn out.

The batteries themselves are really power dense, so they don't necessarily go up for a long time, its that they give off all their power in a brief, sudden powerful ball of fiery shit you don't want to be near.
 
About to take off for DC. There was a Galaxy Note 7 announcement in the boarding area and now on the plane. Have to power it off and not connect it to a power source. I can't think of any specific product warning since i have been flying the last 15 years. Its like bad press every flight. A few people asked other passengers why. So that word of mouth will continue to kill them. Oh this is an American flight.
 

moai

Member
About to take off for DC. There was a Galaxy Note 7 announcement in the boarding area and now on the plane. Have to power it off and not connect it to a power source. I can't think of any specific product warning since i have been flying the last 15 years. Its like bad press every flight. A few people asked other passengers why. So that word of mouth will continue to kill them. Oh this is an American flight.

chile here, heard the same warning on a local flight. never heard something like this, this phone is dead.
 

Futureman

Member
They've already begun selling the Note 7 again in stores in the US. I don't see how they can just do an outright ban. Also as far as I know Samsung did issue a recall (article in the OP says otherwise). Maybe it was just a limited recall or something?
 
They've already begun selling the Note 7 again in stores in the US. I don't see how they can just do an outright ban. Also as far as I know Samsung did issue a recall (article in the OP says otherwise). Maybe it was just a limited recall or something?
Issuing a recall is only mildly relevant to flight security as it doesn't mean everyone with a Note 7 has been through the recall process. Basically, security trumps Samsung's financial interests.
 
Just boarded a flight, and they said: "please ensure your mobile devices are in airplane mode, and if you have a galaxy note 7 please turn it off for the duration of the flight." Scattered laughter throughout the plane came as a result.
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
Yeah, I had the "don't turn on a Galaxy Note 7" on my most recent flight from SFO to AUS

Not a good look for Samsung.
 
They've already begun selling the Note 7 again in stores in the US. I don't see how they can just do an outright ban. Also as far as I know Samsung did issue a recall (article in the OP says otherwise). Maybe it was just a limited recall or something?

It's a voluntary recall, so if people want to keep their current phones, they can. Samsung isn't doing a mandatory recall because they know how much it would cost them to do so (and the issue in the OP is just a part of that).
 
their latest firmware limits the charge capacity to 60% on recalled units and has a warning screen about the recall on boot and when plugged in to charge.
 
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