Are E-Cigarettes Safe? Device Sparks Fire On American Airlines Plane, No One Hurt

An American Airlines passenger's electronic cigarette "malfunctioned" Thursday and started a small fire aboard the aircraft, airline officials said. The small fire forced the flight from Dallas to Indianapolis to make an emergency landing at Clinton National Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas.

American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein said none of the 137 passengers or five crew members was injured, according to the Associated Press (AP). The airline said crew members quickly extinguished the fire.

Feinstein also said a replacement plane was sent to Little Rock and all the passengers arrived in Indianapolis later Thursday.

"We were sitting on the plane and I noticed the flight attendants were frantically running," passenger Susan Karimi told Little Rock television station KTHV. "It was announced we were going to make an emergency landing and I felt lucky there was an airport nearby. I was prepared to land in the water or in the middle of a field."

Authorities inspected the original plane in Dallas and no damage was discovered. Feinstein told local media that all details about how the e-cigarette caught fire and where it was stored will be investigated by the FAA.

Under Federal Aviation Administration rules, e-cigarettes are prohibited in checked luggage but allowed in carry-on bags. The U.S. Transportation Department announced earlier this year a new ban on electronic cigarettes in checked luggage on commercial airplanes. Applicable to all domestic and foreign carriers with flights scheduled to and from the U.S., the rule prohibits all e-cigarettes, including electronic cigars and pipes.

There have been many instances in the past when e-cigarettes exploded due to faulty batteries. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration identified over 60 such incidents in 2015 and early 2016, after recording 92 explosions from 2009 to September 2015, AP reported.