Headphones catch fire on flight from Beijing to Melbourne, burning sleeping passenger's face and hands 
 
 Updated 
 
 A woman has suffered burns to her face and hands after her headphones caught fire and melted on a flight from Beijing to Melbourne, prompting warnings about battery-operated devices on aeroplanes. 
 
 The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said a woman was using her personal noise-cancelling headphones on a flight from China to Melbourne on February 19. 
 
 While she was sleeping, about two hours into the flight, she heard a loud explosion. 
 
 She told the ATSB she then felt burning on her face, before the headphones slipped around her neck. 
 
 "I continued to feel burning so I grabbed them off and threw them on the floor," she said in a statement issued by the ATSB. 
 
 "They were sparking and had small amounts of fire. 
 
 "As I went to stamp my foot on them the flight attendants were already there with a bucket of water to pour on them." 
 
 The flight attendants then put the headphones into a bucket at the back of the plane. 
 
 The ATSB has not revealed the brand of headphones. 
 
 Phones, air purifier among flight fire hazards 
 
 Stuart Godley from the ATSB said it was the first time a set of headphones catching on fire had been reported in Australia. 
 
 "It seems to be [that] what happened was the batteries have caught on fire while she's wearing them," he said. 
 
 "Besides her hair being singed and her hair blackened, I don't think she's had any serious burns," he said. 
 
 "She's had some burns on her hands where she's grabbed her headphones, and also her clothes were burnt." 
 
 But Mr Godley said there had been a number of phone and device battery fires. 
 
 "We've also had a case of a person using personal air purifier and the batteries in that have caught on fire on a flight," he said. 
 
 Passengers 'coughing, choking' for rest of flight 
 
 The battery and cover melted and stuck to the floor of the plane, the ATSB said, and the smell of melted plastic, burnt electronics and burnt hair filled the cabin for the rest of the flight. 
 
 "People were coughing and choking the entire way home," the woman said in the statement. 
 
 Mr Godley said there was no need to ban lithium battery devices on planes as long as people took the right precautions. 
 
 "There is a bit more of a fire risk for lithium batteries than for other batteries. If you're carrying spare batteries always have them in your carry-on baggage," he said. 
 
 "Never put them underneath in your cargo because if it does catch on fire or short and there are other batteries nearby, they can get thermal runaway where each of the batteries catch on fire. 
 
 "Makes sure the ends of them are protected and they can't rub together. 
 
 "If you do have personal device that gets caught down in between the gaps of the seats don't move your seat, just call a flight attendant ... because the movement of the seat could crush the phone and start a fire." 
 
 Topics: community-and-society, travel-health-and-safety, lifestyle-and-leisure, travel-and-tourism, china, melbourne-3000, vic 
 
 First posted ||||| (CNN) Australian authorities will investigate why a pair of battery-powered headphones caught fire two hours into a flight between Beijing and Melbourne, blackening and blistering a female passenger's face and hands. 
 
 The woman was sleeping and listening to music about two hours into the trip when she heard an explosion. 
 
 "As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face," she told the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which issued a statement Wednesday as a warning to other passengers. 
 
 A passenger on an international flight, pictured, said her headphones caught on fire midflight. 
 
 "I just grabbed my face which caused the headphones to go around my neck," she said. 
 
 The woman, who was not identified, said she tore off the headphones and threw them to the floor, where she saw they were shooting off sparks and small flames. 
 
 "As I went to stamp my foot on them the flight attendants were already there with a bucket of water to pour on them. They put them into the bucket at the rear of the plane," she said. 
 
 They couldn't remove all of the headphones however -- both the battery and cover had melted into the aircraft floor. 
 
 The woman threw the headphones off and they melted into the aircraft floor. 
 
 "People were coughing and choking the entire way home," the passenger told the ATSB, adding the cabin reeked of melted plastic and burned hair. 
 
 Peter Gibson, communications manager for Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority, told CNN they would be investigating the incident. 
 
 "If it seems the device was damaged, then that will explain it ... but you know if it was a genuine battery and hadn't been abused then we will go to the manufacturer and see what's going on," he said. 
 
 Batteries known to cause plane fires 
 
 In a statement, the ATSB said it was likely the batteries inside the headphones had caught fire, rather than the headphones themselves. 
 
 However, a spokesman wouldn't reveal what type of batteries or headphones were involved. He said the incident had occurred on February 19. 
 
 Burns left on the passenger's skin following the incident. 
 
 Only a day before the incident, an Airbus A320 that took off from China reportedly had to make an emergency landing in Nagoya, Japan, after a portable power pack started a fire inside an overhead locker. 
 
 Gibson said lithium batteries were often the cause of fires on board planes. He advised travelers to carry any spare batteries in a separate plastic bag within carry-on luggage. 
 
 "You must carry it in the cabin because downstairs, if it shorts out, it will smolder away ... by the time it's detected by the fire alarms it's a big problem. Upstairs, as soon as it starts smoking, the cabin crew can react quickly," he said. 
 
 Last year, US authorities banned Samsung Galaxy Note 7 from all US flights after its lithium battery was found to spontaneously ignite. The ban extended to shipping the phones as air cargo. 
 
 Samsung blamed faulty lithium-ion batteries, which it was said were overheating and causing the device to catch fire. Attempts to fix the problem failed and it later permanently halted production. ||||| An airline passenger has spoken of her horror when her battery-operated headphones exploded on her face mid-flight. 
 
 The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has issued a warning after the woman, travelling from Beijing to Melbourne on February 19, was left with a burnt face, hand and burnt hair. 
 
 The woman, whose identity has been concealed by the ATSB, said she was listening to music on a pair of battery-operated headphones when she fell asleep about two hours into the flight. 
 
 She woke to a loud explosion. 
 
 Related Articles Why Qantas won't let you pick up your phone if you drop it on board 
 
 "As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face," she said. 
 
 "I just grabbed my face which caused the headphones to go around my neck. 
 
 Advertisement 
 
 "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." 
 
 Flight attendants quickly poured a bucket of water on the headphones but the battery and cover were melted and stuck to the floor of the aircraft. 
 
 SHARE 
 
 Share on Facebook SHARE 
 
 Share on Twitter TWEET 
 
 Link The woman was badly burnt when her headphones exploded on a flight from Beijing to Melbourne. Photos: Australian Transport Safety Bureau 
 
 Photos show her hair and eyebrows singed and filled with black soot. 
 
 For the remainder of the flight, passengers endured the smell of melted plastic, burnt electronics and burnt hair. 
 
 SHARE 
 
 Share on Facebook 
 
 Share on Twitter 
 
 Link The woman's hand was also burnt. Photo: Australian Transport Safety Bureau 
 
 "People were coughing and choking the entire way home," the passenger said. 
 
 A spokesman for the ATSB declined to reveal the brand of the headphones, saying all batteries are potentially risky. 
 
 "The ATSB has assessed that it is the batteries, as the power source, that caught on fire and are therefore the issue... All batteries contain stored energy and are therefore potentially risky." 
 
 In its safety warning, the ATSB said the potential for in-flight issues is increasing as the range of products using batteries grows. 
 
 Battery-powered devices should be stowed when not in use and spare batteries must be kept in carry-on baggage, not checked baggage, the warning said. 
 
 The incident follows several incidents of Samsung Galaxy phones and hoverboards exploding and being banned on planes. 
 
 Samsung recalled their Galaxy Note 7s due to faulty batteries that were catching fire. 
 
 In another incident, a phone battery caused a fire on a Qantas plane last year when the phone became stuck in a reclining chair and was crushed. 
 
 Lithium ion batteries, commonly used in phones and handheld electronics because they charge quickly and are compact, use highly flammable liquid that can explode if a battery short circuits. 
 
 Poorly constructed or older model lithium batteries are more likely to short circuit however tech website Gizmodo said over-heating and over-charging can also potentially cause an explosion in a 'perfect' battery. 
 
 The chance of your device exploding is "something like one in 10 million," Ken Boyce, from American safety consulting and certification company UL, told Gizmodo. 
 
 The Civil Aviation and Safety Authority has more information about travelling safely with batteries and portable power packs. ||||| As the range of products using batteries grows, the potential for in-flight issues increases. 
 
 On a recent flight from Beijing to Melbourne, a passenger was listening to music using a pair of her own battery-operated headphones. 
 
 About two hours into the flight while sleeping, the passenger heard a loud explosion. “As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face,” she said. “I just grabbed my face which caused the headphones to go around my neck. 
 
 “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. 
 
 “As I went to stamp my foot on them the flight attendants were already there with a bucket of water to pour on them. They put them into the bucket at the rear of the plane.” The battery and cover were both melted and stuck to the floor of the aircraft. 
 
 Flight attendants returned to check on her wellbeing. For the remainder of the flight, passengers endured the smell of melted plastic, burnt electronics and burnt hair. “People were coughing and choking the entire way home,” the passenger said. 
 
 The ATSB assessed that the batteries in the device likely caught on fire. The ATSB reminds passengers using battery-powered devices that: 
 
 batteries should be kept in an approved stowage, unless in use 
 
 spare batteries must be in your carry-on baggage NOT checked baggage 
 
 if a passenger’s smart phone or other device has fallen into the seat gap, locate their device before moving powered seats 
 
 if a passenger cannot locate their device, they should refrain from moving their seat and immediately contact a cabin crew member. 
 
 More information about Travelling safely with batteries and portable power packs. 
 
 Other ATSB news stories and investigation reports about lithium ion batteries:
– A flight from Beijing to Melbourne, Australia, turned terrifying last month when a woman's headphones exploded midflight, burning her hands, face, and hair, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The unidentified woman had dozed off a couple of hours into the Feb. 19 flight while wearing the headphones, and per an Australian Transport Safety Bureau warning issued about the incident, she awoke to a loud bang and a burning sensation on her face. She was able to gather her wits, grab the headphones, and hurl them to the floor, where she says they were "sparking" and "had small amounts of fire." Flight attendants came running with a bucket of water to douse the device, part of which had melted and stuck to the floor of the plane. The ATSB release shows images of the woman's face and neck covered in black soot and with burns and blisters on her hand. "People were coughing and choking the entire way home," one passenger says about the cabin's acrid smell. An ATSB rep tells ABC Australia that although this is the first report in the country about a pair of headphones exploding, other devices—including phones and a personal air purifier—have gone up in smoke. An Australia Civil Aviation Safety Authority rep tells CNN they'll be looking more into what happened to see if the headphones themselves were damaged, sparking the explosion, or if the blame falls on the batteries. In the meantime, the ATSB, which has declined to say what battery brand was involved, reminds travelers that extra device batteries should go in carry-on bags, not checked luggage, and that if a phone or other device falls between the seats, one should dig the device out or call for the crew's help before moving the seat. (Exploding e-cigs have also been an issue.)