Thermal runaway of wheelchair’s lithium-ion battery forces El Al to cancel flight

On 27 October, El Al was forced to cancel flight LY326 between Paris CDG, France and Tel Aviv, Israel. Smoke was detected in the cargo compartment of a Boeing 737-900 (4X-EHE), caused by a lithium-ion battery in a wheelchair, according to the Israeli television channel Channel 13.

In a statement, the airline said that the aircraft was grounded after smoke was detected in the hold, probably caused by a battery fire. El Al said that the battery had not been removed from the wheelchair as required by aviation rules.

Luckily, the incident happened during boarding: “Passengers who already boarded, had to disembark. All passengers have been offered hotel rooms for the night and a new departure to Tel Aviv was scheduled the next day (Monday),” the airline added, emphasizing that “the safety and security of the passengers are our top priority.”