Smartphone catches fire on Chennai flight

The case was reported inside an aircraft at the time of landing at Chennai airport, prompting aviation regulator DGCA to summon the company officials and ban the on board use of this series of devices of the South Korean major. The name of the aircraft carrier could not ascertained immediately. 

With the latest incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked airlines to advise passengers to switch off their Samsung Galaxy Note phones while onboard. The move also comes two weeks after the watchdog banned the use of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on board an aircraft following a series of incidents of the smartphone's battery exploding in various countries. However, this is the first incident of the Samsung device catching fire on board in India. The crew had to use fire extinguisher to put off the smoke and following the incident, the DGCA has called in Samsung officials to meet on September 26. 

Meanwhile, a Samsung spokesman said, "We are aware of an incident involving one of our devices. At Samsung, customer safety is our highest priority. We are in touch with relevant authorities to gather more information, and are looking into the matter." Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has recalled all Galaxy Note 7 smartphones equipped with batteries it has found to be fireprone and halted their sales in 10 markets, denting a revival of the firm's mobile business, within weeks of its launch.