Lufthansa

Vanishing iPad forces Lufthansa A380 to divert to Boston over battery fire risk

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A Lufthansa A380 (reg. D- AIMC)en route from Los Angeles to Munich was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Boston on 23 April after a passenger’s iPad became lodged inside a Business Class seat, raising fears of a potential lithium battery fire.

Flight LH453 had been airborne for about three hours and was over central Canada when cabin crew reported the trapped device. Though not an immediate emergency, the risk of thermal runaway—a dangerous battery fire triggered by seat motors—prompted the crew to divert to Boston, where Lufthansa has maintenance support.

The aircraft landed safely, engineers retrieved the iPad, and the flight resumed, arriving in Munich three hours late. The incident follows a growing trend of diversions caused by lost personal electronics, including a similar case last month involving an Air France Boeing 777.

This post was published on 25 April 2025 22:11

André Orban

M. Sc. Engineering

Published by
André Orban

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