Keep power bank on your person

[Anchor]

This is news about a fire on an Air Busan passenger plane.

The cause of the fire is suspected to be a backup battery among the luggage in the overhead compartment.

However, it has been reported that the announcement on the passenger plane instructs passengers to carry batteries with them.

Most people are unaware of this.

To prevent future incidents, reporter Lee Seung-cheol has investigated how these safety regulations can be improved.

[Report]

A bright red flame is seen coming from the overhead compartment above the seats.

Lithium-ion batteries among the luggage are suspected to be the cause of the fire.

[Jung Young-jun/Busan, Nam-gu/Jan. 28: "The fire suddenly flared up from that luggage compartment. There was a huge amount of smoke inside. From that moment, passengers started pushing forward."]

In the announcement made before the flight departs, it instructs, "Passengers must carry their mobile phones and backup batteries with them."

On the day of the incident, the Air Busan passenger plane also made the same announcement.

However, passengers often tend to overlook this information.

Legally, only lighters are required to be carried on the body.

Lithium-ion batteries are also installed in mobile phones, laptops, tablets, electronic cigarettes, and even electric toothbrushes.

To quickly extinguish a fire in the cabin, it is better to keep these items in visible places.

In this incident, the crew members brought extinguishers, but as the flames surged from the overhead compartment, they gave up on extinguishing the fire and evacuated immediately.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has considered strengthening related regulations, but they stated that in situations like turbulence, carrying items on the body could actually increase the risk of fire, making it difficult to implement.

There is also a regulation that spare backup batteries must be wrapped in insulating material, but very few people are aware of this.

[Yoo Kyung-in/Professor of Aviation Management, Midwest University: "It is not feasible for cabin crew to check whether backup batteries are properly packaged. It is a regulation that is difficult to enforce in reality."]

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that they will revise safety regulations, such as the procedures for checking carry-on luggage, based on the results of the accident investigation, but they explained that independent amendments are difficult due to the need to consider international standards.

KBS News, Lee Seung-cheol.