Shoddy repair of Apple iPhone screen led to smoking unit on Australian flight last year

You might remember the smoking Apple iPhone that filled up an airline with smoke last November. The incident occurred on Regional Express Flight ZL319 from Lismore to Sydney. A cabin crew member alertly used a fire extinguisher to stop the smoke, and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau followed through with an investigation. The agency's report simply parroted back the incident, explaining that a crew member spotted the Apple iPhone smoking and glowing red, told its owner to toss it in the aisle, and covered the device with foam from the extinguisher. That only covers the "what". What was needed was to learn the "why".

To find out the cause of the malfunction on the iPhone, the device was shipped to the FAA and a misplaced screw was discovered inside the unit's battery cavity. The Apple iPhone's owner had the screen on his phone replaced, but not by an authorized iPhone repair center. The center accidentally failed to properly replace the screw which was most likely holding the model's 30 pin connector in place. The loose pin shorted out the battery terminals which caused the smoke and red glow.

The repair center also failed to replace a screw that fastened the main board of the device, put two screws used to fasten cable in the wrong spots, damaged the adhesive that keeps the main board in place, removed the two indicators used to determine if a liquid spill damaged the unit and deformed a metal clip used for the battery.

In an understatement, the ATSB said that its findings indicate, "a lack of appropriate quality control on behalf of the unauthorized repair facility". The agency also noted that this is the reason why devices using a lithium-ion battery should be carried on a plane rather than checked in as luggage.

source: TheRegister