THE Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) has reminded air carriers that allow lithium battery-powered transportation devices, such as hoverboards or mini-segways, on their aircraft to store these items in the overhead cabin as passenger carry-on baggage.
The Caap issued the reminder after the International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao) issued last month an electronic bulletin to clarify safety concerns over the carriage of personal transportation devices on airplanes.
According to the Icao advisory, several aviation authorities have reported confusion among air operators on the carriage by passengers of hoverboards and self-balancing or multiwheel mini- segways onboard aircrafts. The advisory came following reports of hoverboards catching fire without warning.
According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, there have been 12 incidents in the US where the lithium ion batteries in these hoverboards reportedly caught fire, destroying bedrooms and even entire homes.
The fires have started in all sorts of different circumstances, too. According to owners and witnesses, some of the hoverboards exploded while charging, others while riding and one while it was sitting on a kiosk in a Washington shopping mall.
The scary part is that there’s no single reason these hoverboards are exploding, and there’s no surefire way to avoid potential catastrophe if you want to buy one yourself.
There’s no particular brand of hoverboard to avoid as they all seem to come from thousands of interchangeable parts factories in China, or any label on the box that guarantees a product won’t explode.
Although there’s no report of hoverboard catching fire in the Philippines, it was reported that a Filipino in Dubai had died after hitting a lamppost while riding a hoverboard.
The Dubai police said the man, who remains unidentified, hit the post when he lost balance.
The Icao bulletin stated: “Some airline operators have banned carriage of, [hoverboards or mini-segways]…by passengers and crew because of safety concerns prompted by media reports of some devices catching fire.”
Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific banned late last year the lithium battery-powered transportation devices on their flights, citing their tendency to spontaneously combust.
The two airlines prohibit passengers from bringing the devices either on their checked or carry-on baggage because of the fire hazard risk they pose when they overheat.
Caap chief William Hotchkiss III cited another Icao advisory, which states that, “while the Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air currently allow these devices to be carried provided certain conditions are met, states are encouraged to recommend to operators that they require passengers to carry such devices in the cabin,” the advisory said.
Hotchkiss explained that the Icao issued the advice because it was “easier to control fire incidents possibly caused by a lithium battery-powered transportation device or equipment in the flight cabin than in the cargo hold.”
The Icao instructions completely ban electronic devices powered by lithium metal or lithium ion cells and carried by passengers or crew when the batteries exceed the 160 watt-hours limit.
On the other hand, air carriers have the discretion of allowing devices containing lithium ion batteries with over 100 watt-hours but not exceeding 160 watt-hours in their aircraft.
Icao also prescribes using codes UN 3171 for battery-powered vehicles and equipment, and UN 3480 for lithium ion batteries when they are transported as cargo.