ATLANTA — A Delta flight from Atlanta headed to Fort Lauderdale had to be diverted to Fort Myers after a lithium battery exploded in a passenger’s bag around 8:30 a.m. on Monday.
In a statement, Delta said that flight attendants “extinguished (the) personal device and declared an emergency out of an abundance of caution.”
According to air traffic control recordings from the incident, the batter was inside someone’s backpack when it exploded.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Rep. Buddy Carter: Granddaughters are grappling with ‘traumatic’ experience from Texas camp floods
- Family of 3 boys injured in boat explosion on north GA lake speak about fiery rescue
- 4-year-old, 15-year-old die in separate drownings over July 4 weekend
Ok, so the backpack has been contained. We think it was a lithium battery that caused the smoke and the fire. It’s in a containment bag. No smoke in the cabin at this point. No active fire. It’s in the lavatory. We’re planning on taxiing clear of the runway,” the pilot told the Air Traffic Control Tower.
Delta said the plane landed safely in Fort Myers at Southwest Florida International Airport. The plane is currently under evaluation.
“Delta is actively working to accommodate customers and get them to their destination as quickly as possible,” the airline said in a statement. “We appreciate the quick work and actions by our people to follow their training, and we apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels.”
The FAA said that it is investigating the incident.
©2025 Cox Media Group
