The Boeing 787 with over 200 passengers on board was three hours into its flight. Aircraft safety regulators are calling for new designs for seats
When the seat was moved forward by the passenger it crushed the phone's lithium battery causing it to overheat and catch fire. READ MORE: Delta flight from Atlanta to Barcelona is forced to turn back after passenger suffered horrific bout of diarrhea Advertisement A Pan Pan call in aviation speak is an emergency but not life-threatening situation and stands for 'Possible Assistance Needed'.
A British Airways spokesman confirmed that the flight diverted to Alaska before continuing its scheduled journey to Canada and on to London's Heathrow Airport. The spokesman added that crew dealt with the incident and passengers were not at risk.The Boeing 787 with over 200 passengers on board had taken off from Tokyo and was three hours into its flight.
Two years ago cabin crew on a flight to Miami, Florida, had to extinguish a fire caused by a charging mobile phone that had fallen down the side of a business class seat.