High-Flying Hazard Averted: Quick Thinking Prevents Potential Disaster

On March 30, 2017, tension gripped the cabin of Southwest Airlines flight 1761 as it approached Fort Lauderdale, a typical landing transformed into an emergency scenario. Passengers aboard the flight from Columbus, OH to Fort Lauderdale, FL experienced a startling disturbance when a traveler's laptop began emitting smoke and an acrid smell of burning plastic filled the air. The device, accidentally doused with a beverage earlier, turned dangerously hot, creating a palpable sense of panic amongst the passengers.

The flight crew sprang into action, as the situation escalated. The vigilant flight attendant, adhering to her training, quickly retrieved the smoking laptop and dashed to the aft galley. There, with precision and calm, she doused the device with a halon extinguisher and subsequently cooled it with water, ensuring the peril was contained, preventing fire, explosion, and further anxiety. This swift response underscored the paramount importance of attentive airline personnel and the necessity of well-planned emergency protocols.

The incident, while void of injuries or severe damage, served as a stark reminder of the unpredictable dangers of technology and liquids mingling at 30,000 feet. Now, as we reflect on the near-miss, industry experts are calling for innovative solutions to mitigate such threats in the skies.

Enter the FireTowel, a novel device specifically designed to address fires from electronic devices aboard an aircraft. Imagine a fire blanket evolved; the FireTowel is constructed with enhanced thickness for superior fire smothering capability, complete with weighted perimeters that seal in smoke and foreclose the fire's oxygen supply. Its built-in handles make it easy to position and secure, and its capacity to enwrap a hot device until it has cooled could revolutionize our approach to inflight fire emergencies. Had the flight attendant had access to it during the incident, the smother