A United Airlines flight from Washington Dulles to Rome made an unusual about-turn off the U.S. East Coast after a passenger’s laptop slid behind a cabin wall panel and through a gap into the cargo hold, where it couldn’t be retrieved.
Flight UA126, operated by a Boeing 767, had been airborne for about an hour on October 15th when the incident occurred. The device reportedly slipped behind a cabin wall panel and into an inaccessible space near the cargo hold – an area with neither fire suppression systems nor easy access. Though no smoke or heat was detected, the crew faced an uneasy unknown: a lithium-battery device out of sight, potentially damaged, and impossible to reach.
“I have never heard anything like that before”
Air traffic control audio captured by LiveATC.net and shared by @YouCanSeeATC adds context to the decision. “We’re gonna have to get a clearance to return to Dulles,” one of the pilots told controllers. “We have a minor situation here with a passenger who has somehow dropped a laptop, that was on, down the sidewall into the cargo pit area of the airplane. We can’t see it, can’t access it, don’t know the status of it. So our decision is to return to Dulles and find this laptop before we can continue over the ocean.”
“I have never heard anything like that before”, remarked the ATC after rerouting the aircraft back to Dulles.
You can listen to the conversation in the video by @YouCanSeeATC below:
United confirmed the diversion, telling Business Insider the flight returned “as a precaution to retrieve a customer’s laptop that had fallen behind a cabin wall panel and through a small gap leading to the cargo hold.” The spokesperson added: “Maintenance crews retrieved the laptop, inspected the aircraft and the flight later departed for Rome.”
The aircraft landed safely, maintenance crews recovered the laptop, and the flight continued to Rome after inspection, arriving several hours behind schedule.
While the decision may sound drastic, it reflects the industry’s heightened sensitivity to the dangers of personal electronic devices. A crushed or short-circuited lithium battery can ignite rapidly and burn at more than 1,000°C – a scenario cabin crew can manage with fire bags or extinguishers only if the device is accessible. The risk of an unreachable battery overheating mid-flight is enough to justify precaution.
This is also why passengers are advised not to move the seat themselves, but to call a flight attendant if a phone slips out of reach. Adjusting the seat could damage the device and trigger a battery fire. And if the phone becomes trapped and inaccessible, it may be difficult to control the fire if one starts.
In an earlier article, The Aviation Brief highlighted five recent cases underscoring the growing risk of in-flight lithium battery fires. The captain’s decision to turn back reflects that same industry caution – addressing a potential hazard on the ground rather than risking an unreachable battery overheating mid-Atlantic.
In the end, no emergency declared, no panic – just a captain choosing an abundance of caution over an ounce of potential regret.
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