American Airlines Flight 2398, an Airbus A321 travelling from Atlanta to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, landed safely on Friday after a passenger laptop caught fire in the cabin during descent. Flight attendants used a thermal containment bag to isolate the device, allowing the crew to keep the aircraft on course to DFW, where emergency responders met the flight and one passenger received medical attention before release.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident, which involved 133 people on board. Early reports that passengers may have been burned were later narrowed to one person treated on site. The case underlines the continuing operational risk posed by lithium-ion batteries and the importance of cabin crew training and onboard fire-containment procedures on narrowbody mainline flights.