CPSC Advises Galaxy Note 7 Owners To Take Advantage Of Samsung’s Remedies Post In-Flight Incident

After hearing about the latest fire incident involving the Galaxy Note 7, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has decided to launch a probe and has reach out to Samsung and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the investigation.

CPSC chairman Elliott F. Kaye said Thursday that the agency is swiftly taking action to conduct an investigation on the in-flight incident. GSM Arena has learned that Kaye’s staff reached out to the FAA and the South Korea tech giant to retrieve more details about the Galaxy Note 7 unit that caught fire while inside a plane.

On Wednesday, the Verge reported that the passengers of Southwest Airlines flight 994 that was bound to Baltimore from Louisville had to evacuate the plane after a Galaxy Note 7 unit caught fire and began to emit smoke. Everyone onboard reportedly exited the aircraft via the main door.

It was found out later on that the Galaxy Note 7 unit that caught fire inside the plane was already a replacement unit or a unit that was issued as replacement for the original Note 7 that was confirmed to have a battery defect. The replacement was deemed safe by Samsung, so the fire incident is quite shocking at this point.

Per GSM Arena’s coverage of the incident, the owner of the device has confirmed that it was a replacement Galaxy Note 7 and that he had thrown his phone on the plane’s floor when it began to spontaneously combust and emitted smoke.

Despite making it clear that his replacement Galaxy Note 7 unit caught fire, Samsung issued a statement saying it needs to retrieve the device first before confirming that it was indeed a new Galaxy Note 7 that caused an inconvenient flame while onboard a plane.

Meanwhile, the U.S. CPSC has advised owners of the recalled Galaxy Note 7 to take advantage of the remedies that Samsung has been offering in the wake of the phablet’s global recall. Kaye also stated that another remedy to the situation is simply ask for a refund for the the pricey phone.

"We are working with the authorities and Southwest now to recover the device and confirm the cause. Once we have examined the device we will have more information to share,” A Samsung spokesperson said.