The FAA last week decided it could not ignore the potential safety
risks for owners of Samsung’s recently released Galaxy Note7
smartphones. Samsung has urged owners to return all of the 2.5 million
Note7s in service because nearly three dozen of the devices have
spontaneously burst into flame due to a problem with the phone’s lithium
battery.
On Thursday, the FAA strongly “advised passengers not to turn on or
charge these devices on board aircraft and not to stow them in any
checked baggage.” The advisory fell just short of an outright ban
against bringing the devices on an aircraft, however.
A variety of national news sources have in the past few days reported
confusion about the product recall itself because Samsung did not
actually use the word recall in its communications with owners and the
press.
Sunday’s New York Times, however, reported the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) had issued a recall for the
Samsung Note7s, an event that would normally trigger an outright ban by
the FAA against carrying a Note7 aboard a civil aircraft in any form.
Late Sunday, the CPSC told Flying the recall report was
incorrect. “CPSC has not issued an official recall announcement. We are
continuing to work on a voluntary and cooperative recall announcement
with Samsung.”
Aviators are being urged to consider the most conservative
alternative to using the Note7 while Samsung sorts out the details of
the battery problem. Samsung said it will exchange a Galaxy Note7
for a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge and will also replace any Note7
specific accessories with a refund of the price difference between
devices.
Customers may also wait until the problem is solved and then
return their phones for a new Note7, although no date for a permanent
solution has been announced. Samsung’s offering affected customers a $25
gift card for the inconvenience the Note7 problem has caused.
SOURCE:- flyingmag.com
