iPhone fire on Australian plane caused by shoddy screen replacement

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
An investigation into the cause of an iPhone 4 that began glowing and emitting "dense smoke" on a flight landing in Sydney, Australia last fall has traced the problem to a battery punctured by a screw misplaced during a botched attempt to replace the device's screen.

The incident, which occured last November, initially stoked concerns about the safety of high powered lithium batteries in general, given other isolated cases of battery failure including a batch of Sony batteries used in Apple's iBook and PoweBook G4 notebooks in 2006, and an separate problem with first generation iPod nano units from 2005 and 2006.

However, rather than being a manufacturing defect, a report by ZDnet notes that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found the overheating iPhone was caused by a screw left behind during a screen replacement performed by an unauthorized repair center.



The relatively large screw, "from the bottom of the unit, adjacent to the 30-pin connector," was discovered inside the body of the device in an X-ray (shown above), where it punctured the battery pack, resulting in its overheating.

Referencing the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority's recommendations, the ATSB's chief commissioner Martin Dolan stated that "when traveling with mobile phones, laptops and other portable electronic devices ? or just their batteries ? passengers should, wherever possible, carry them in the cabin, and not in checked-in baggage."

Dolan also noted that the incident "highlights the importance of good maintenance and repair processes for these devices, and the risk of using non-authorised repair agents."

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    How do you leave a screw inside an iPhone? How does it FIT?! 

  • Reply 2 of 17
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member


    It's a bit immoral of the owner to let Apple suffer all that bad publicity, and fail to mention the phone had been repaired by Dodgy Bros, Inc.

  • Reply 3 of 17
    mystigomystigo Posts: 183member


    I am sure Apple will be sued anyway.

  • Reply 4 of 17
    tylerk36tylerk36 Posts: 1,037member


    Hea hea hea hea. >) 

  • Reply 5 of 17
    island hermitisland hermit Posts: 6,217member


    See, I told you guys that Apple's quality was worse than other phone manufacturers and Apple's qc was sub par!


     


    Oh, wait...

     

  • Reply 6 of 17
    misamisa Posts: 827member


    I think just about everyone called it when "battery damage" was the cause. How someone manages to fit a screw and still get the battery to fit, let alone work doesn't make sense. Either the owner was "in" on the defect, or didn't turn it on until the flight after it had been repaired.

  • Reply 7 of 17
    mhiklmhikl Posts: 471member


    Maybe Apple's proprietary screws aren't such a bad idea after all. Not that they would have helped with iPhones & family.


     


    This may be a case for the Darwin Awards. http://www.darwinawards.com/

  • Reply 8 of 17
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    mystigo wrote: »
    I am sure Apple will be sued anyway.

    Something like this points out the downside of the immediacy of the Internet. I remember this incident. Apple critics and fudsters jumped on this like no tommorw. Now, months later, the truth comes out but it's too late. The damage has been done. Where does Apple go now to get its reputation back?
  • Reply 9 of 17
    elrothelroth Posts: 1,201member


    This guy will still find a lawyer to sue Apple - he'll say there should be an internal warning system in iPhones that automatically discovers orphan screws.


     


    "Siri - are there any loose screws?"  


    "Only in your head."

  • Reply 10 of 17
    noahjnoahj Posts: 4,503member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by elroth View Post


    This guy will still find a lawyer to sue Apple - he'll say there should be an internal warning system in iPhones that automatically discovers orphan screws.


     


    "Siri - are there any loose screws?"  


    "Only in your head."



     






    He may have a case to sue the repair shop.  If he does try to sue Apple that Siri quote would indeed apply...

  • Reply 11 of 17
    numoonumoo Posts: 11member
    Apple should sue for damages due to fraud!
  • Reply 12 of 17
    Aussie, eh! Oi, you left the bloody screw in there.... Look at the size.
    I wonder what actually happen to all iphone/iPod scares in the past.
  • Reply 13 of 17
    mactacmactac Posts: 316member

    Quote:


    Dolan also noted that the incident "highlights the importance of good maintenance and repair processes for these devices, and the risk of using non-authorised repair agents."



     


    Like a factory trained or Apple employee is incapable of making an error.

  • Reply 14 of 17
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    It's a bit immoral of the owner to let Apple suffer all that bad publicity, and fail to mention the phone had been repaired by Dodgy Bros, Inc.



     


    Indeed. Dodgy Bros LOL. Luckily them air safety blokes were able to investigate properly and not simply scream at Apple.

  • Reply 15 of 17
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MacTac View Post


     


    Like a factory trained or Apple employee is incapable of making an error.



     


    Not incapable, less likely. A man/lady off the street screwing (literally) an iPhone is more risky.

  • Reply 16 of 17
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Splash-reverse View Post



    Aussie, eh! Oi, you left the bloody screw in there.... Look at the size. I wonder what actually happen to all iphone/iPod scares in the past.


     


    A dingo stole the screwdriver.

  • Reply 17 of 17
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    nvidia2008 wrote: »
    A dingo stole the screwdriver.

    Don't be ridiculous, babies don't work in phone repair shops, well not in Australia anyway.

    ;)
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