An Australian woman suffered burns to her face after her battery-operated headphones exploded during a flight from Beijing to Melbourne, Australian air safety investigators said Wednesday.
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The woman, whose name was not released, fell asleep on the plane while wearing the headphones and awoke to a loud explosion about two hours into the flight, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in a statement. The woman said she then felt a burning sensation on her face.
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I just grabbed my face which caused the headphones to go around my neck, the woman was quoted as saying in the statement. I continued to feel burning so I grabbed them off and threw them on the floor. They were sparking and had small amounts of fire.
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Flight attendants poured a bucket of water on the headphones. The battery and cover were melted and stuck to the floor of the plane.
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Passengers were coughing and choking for the rest of the flight, the woman said.
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The transport safety agency said it believes the batteries in the headphones likely caught on fire.
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The agency did not say what brand of headphones the woman was using, what airline she was on or exactly when the incident happened, apart from it being a recent flight. Officials did not immediately respond to a request seeking more information.