Alaska Airlines Makes Emergency Landing After Credit Card Reader Ignites In The Trash

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An Alaska Airlines flight heading from Newark, NJ to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing on Monday morning, after the plane reported smoke on board. Oddly enough, the incident was reportedly sparked when a credit card reader that had been thrown in the trash somehow ignited.

The flight was on its way to the west coast when smoke started coming out of a trash receptacle in the rear galley, reports the Seattle Times.

“There were no flames,” a spokeswoman for Alaska Airlines said. “The flight crew used a fire extinguisher to stop the device from smoking while the captain made flight emergency arrangements.”

There were no injuries reported among the 181 passengers and six crew members aboard. Before the flight can proceed to Seattle, the fire extinguishers will need to be replaced, the spokeswoman added.

Fire officials are keeping the credit card reader to figure out what the heck exactly happened. Another question — did it just stop working and a flight attendant threw it out? Otherwise, the trash is an odd place to keep a credit card reader.

Newark-Seattle flight makes emergency landing [Seattle Times]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist