ThaiSmile Airlines - no electronic devices allowed throughout whole flight

[watcharacters]

 

 

Nothing allowed during flight for years for me.    I've pleaded the case for a  non sim Kindle but they don't get it.     I now just bring a book.

[harrry]

1 hour ago, mogandave said:

 

I don’t worry about safety too much, as I think regardless of the airline, Boeing (or Airbus...) is supervising their maintenance.

That, and the fact that the pilot goes down with us. Once the aircraft are piloted from the ground, I’m done flying...

 

So the rule is do not fly on airlines of countries that believe in reincarnation.  That way the pilot may care.

[NanLaew]

On 5/17/2018 at 8:12 AM, harrry said:

 

Good find there harrry but if that's the FAA's approved method to address an Li battery fire on a plane, then I for one am NOT reassured.

 

The only real fire in that clip was the opening laptop fire at LAX. That was on a concrete floor. The laptops in subsequent examples looked like they were on a steel table for purposes of using a hot plate to initiate thermal runaway. On aircraft, a burning laptop may end up on the floor which is probably aluminum composite and may hold up at Li's initial combustion temperature of 355°F but won't survive the temperatures of a post-Halon extinguishing of the flames and the ongoing thermal runaway exceeding 1000° F.

 

I am surprised that the FAA doesn't mandate Class D Lithium fire extinguishers on board. Agreed my experience with Li batteries and how to address associated fires is from another, offshore industry but very aware of the dangers of these fires in confined spaces, endangering passengers and crew and miles from safety. The fact that the vessels have steel hulls does not afford this industry any benefits once Li batteries get into thermal runaway and the first step is to jettison over the side into the sea. Agreed that ejecting a burning Li battery over a populated area may not be advisable but it should be safe on a flight over the water.

 

Here's a slide show from one of the marine contractors that casts solid doubt on the effectiveness of using water in any manner when confronted with an Li fire. Basic MSDS states that Lithium burns in a normal atmosphere and reacts explosively with water to form Hydrogen so this idea of cooling the fire with water to reduce the risk of companion Li cells to ignite is a dangerous fallacy... as the late David Bowie sang, "putting out the fire with gasoline."

 

Here's another opinion on how to handle Li fires, once again, totally discrediting the use of water in any shape or form.

 

Another point is a lot of modern aircraft have a powered USB port that can be used for charging devices. Since Li thermal runaway typically initiates in a battery being charged. I think that safety has been booted right out the window when the planes interior designers thought this was a sensible idea.