After the fire, the passenger, who was a certified remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) operator in Australia, was located and asked whether there were any batteries in his checked luggage. The passenger replied that there were none. Further inspection of the passenger’s checked luggage by the Australian Federal Police revealed ‘19 batteries intact and additional 6-8 batteries that had been destroyed by fire’.
What might you do with the carry on bag if it starts smoking?Ykick wrote:Never in checked luggage….
I often fly with good condition RC Lipo in carry on bags.
I agree 100% with voicecoils here. I've mentioned before that on occasion in the past I'd traveled with RC LiPo batteries because they were the only things I could get under the 100 Wh carry-on limit, and man was I ever nervous as hell stuffing my overhead bags in the bin, thinking wouldn't it be lame to be "that person" who had a smoking mess of lithium batteries to evacuate from a passenger plane and result in even more restrictive measures? It's not just the cells that are inconsistent and untrustworthy, but also the fact that the pack assembly has all the unfused balance leads brought out and no BMS to protect against any inadvertent external shorts. Even with copious tape and bubble wrap, you just never know.voicecoils wrote:What might you do with the carry on bag if it starts smoking?Ykick wrote:Never in checked luggage….
I often fly with good condition RC Lipo in carry on bags.
I really wish people wouldn't. The quality of RC lipo is just too inconsistent - in other words, untrustworthy.
Indeed these should be the only pack types that people bring with them on planes. And nowadays there are many power tool batteries in the 36V and higher range with 18650 cells and enclosed casings and BMS protection which you can bring aboard with much less concern. So please people heed voicecoil's advice. RC LiPo packs may be legally within the 100 wh carry-on rules, but we should know better that they shouldn't be, and not force the issue with another incident like this one.Reputable 18650s on the other hand are likely to be more consistent and reliable on the cell level, they're produced in the billions and cell-to-cell variability is quite low. Pack construction can still be dangerous of course!
Thats a good point and the user base is really rising fast.Ykick wrote:Just be aware, even if I/we know better and refrain from carry-on RC Lipo, there’s more and more amateur photographers and FPV hobbyists flying with significant volume of this stuff.
Punx0r wrote:As Liveforphysics recently pointed out - there are now 18650 cells that offer sufficient performance and superior capacity for UAVs, so the market might soon switch for non-acrobatic flyers.
Another reason to go with Ego 56V 7.5Ah power pack. Which I still cant find what kind of cells they are, to figure out their discharge current.And nowadays there are many power tool batteries in the 36V and higher range with 18650 cells and enclosed casings and BMS protection which you can bring aboard with much less concern.
Interesting observation and theory for sure as it relates to the original story here. At first I thought that the checked baggage hold was not pressurized which could very much play into things with this instance, although more reading shows that's incorrect and the checked baggage compartment in a plane is pressurized the same as the cabin. But it's typically pressurized to about 8000 ft. equivalent, so if you noticed an effect and a failure going from sea level to 6500 ft, then for sure taking aboard a plane would be even more pronounced.neptronix wrote:Be aware of one thing with pouch cells.
If you make a major altitude change with them, they will naturally expand a little, sort of like how a chip bag will puff up due to the difference in density of air while driving up a big mountain.
I moved from Portland, Ore ( almost sea level ) to Colorado Springs, CO ( 6500 ft. above sea level ) and all of my lipos puffed up a bit and one of my magicshines just died.
I can't imagine what happens at multiple thousands of feet, but the air pressure system in airplanes might help counteract that some.. i dunno.
Probably same thing if it were a laptop, tablet, phone, power brick, tool battery, etc., that started smoking in carry on bag. Quickly evaluate the situation, notify flight crew and follow their directions. If reasonably possible maybe attempt to move it to a lavatory?“What might you do with the carry on bag if it starts smoking?"
Well not if you plan to fly with them, since that's a 420 watt-hour battery which is well above even the limited 160 Wh carry-on battery limit. It looks like Ego does have a 58V 2.5Ah option though, so you could design a system to use two of those in parallel.markz wrote: Another reason to go with Ego 56V 7.5Ah power pack. Which I still cant find what kind of cells they are, to figure out their discharge current.
“What might you do with the carry on bag if it starts smoking?"
Can they just be bought on arrival/ bought ahead of time, shipped to destination and assembled on arrival? Seems crazy to me to risk this including how it could be interpreted by the relevant authorities/the fines, compensation, lawsuit one could be up for.Probably same thing if it were a laptop, tablet, phone, power brick, tool battery, etc., that started smoking in carry on bag. Quickly evaluate the situation, notify flight crew and follow their directions. If reasonably possible maybe attempt to move it to a lavatory?
