A cellphone caused a fire on a British Airways aircraft at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada.
British Airways Flight 271 landed safely in Las Vegas from London on Monday.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the crew reported a cellphone fire on board.
Clark County Fire Department personnel were sent to the scene and extinguished the fire.
BREAKING | Cell Phone Fire on Plane
A cell phone fire aboard a British Airways flight prompted the plane to lane at Harry Reid International Airport.The fire was extinguished and the plane landed safely. Clark County Fire Department personnel were sent to the scene. Stay safe… pic.twitter.com/hGJGvSVFWm
— Citizen (@CitizenApp) June 15, 2026
CBS News shared further:
The pilot can be heard on air traffic control audio saying the mobile phone fire “scorched the inside of the cabin,” but that it was under control.
The Las Vegas airport confirmed the pilot called an alert, but a British Airways spokesperson told CBS News the aircraft arrived as scheduled and did not declare an emergency.
It was unclear what type of cellphone caused the fire.
The FAA said it will investigate the incident.
Electronic devices like cellphones, laptops, and other portable rechargeable electronic devices carry fire risk due to lithium batteries, which can short circuit. Passengers can only carry certain lithium batteries on planes and cannot check them into the cargo hold, according to FAA and airline regulations.
In April, American Airlines tightened restrictions on portable chargers that passengers can bring on flights.
Listen to the audio below:
A British Airways Boeing 787-9 declared an emergency after a cabin fire was reported on board. The crew handled the situation and the aircraft landed safely, where emergency services were waiting as a precaution.
The fire was caused by a mobile phone on board.#BritishAirways… pic.twitter.com/vq3eEFCabU
— Flightdrama (@flightdrama) June 15, 2026
KTNV has more:
While incidents of lithium battery fires on planes are fairly rare, they are becoming increasingly common, a spokesperson for the safety organization UL Standards and Engagement told CNN in an August 2025 report.
Aviation incidents related to lithium-ion battery fires increased 28% between 2019 and 2023, according to UL Standards and Engagement’s data. Vaping devices were identified as the most common cause of lithium battery fires on passenger flights (35%), followed by power banks.
Fires occur when lithium batteries go into “thermal runaway,” an unpredictable event where the batteries begin to short circuit, getting hotter and hotter until the battery fails, emitting flames, smoke, and toxic gas, an FAA official told CNN.
The FAA recommends using a halon fire extinguisher — which are standard equipment on planes — to put out lithium battery fires. (The halon extinguishers use compressed gas to disrupt the chemical chain reaction of a fire, while a traditional fire extinguisher uses powder, foam or water to smother it.)
