Air China Plane Catches Fire Mid-Flight, Makes Emergency Landing

An Air China flight touring to South Korea had to make an emergency touchdown Saturday after a fire erupted in an overhead bin, sending passengers into a panic, according to media studies.

The packed jet, carrying 160 passengers and crew members, reportedly took off from China’s Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport around 9:50 am Saturday and was headed to Seoul when a lithium battery inside somebody’s carry-on baggage erupted in flames.

Check out video posted to X … which reveals the fire raging inside the baggage compartment with smoke filling the cabin as passengers look on in horror. Two crew members rapidly responded to strive to put out the flames.

The New York Times reported the plane was diverted so it might make an emergency touchdown at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

In the end, the aircraft touched down safely with not a single individual injured and the fire was snuffed out. It’s not clear what triggered the battery to flare up.

But, a number of months in the past, China banned some moveable batteries from being saved on planes after a regulator identified the growing risks of bringing the batteries on flights.

Turns out tens of millions of lithium batteries, that are discovered in some cellphones, laptops and chargers, have been recalled over the years because they’re doable fire hazards.