Regional Jet 700 ER/LR (CRJ700)
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem
Procedure
When I stepped off the aircraft to conduct my preflight briefing I noticed a black roll-aboard suitcase which I recognized from Away luggage commercials. It had a red valet tag and one of the ramp agents was about to load it on the plane. I stopped him and had a closer look at this particular piece of luggage. I discovered that it did have a built-in lithium ion charger hidden under the handle. I spoke to one of the ramp managers and reminded him that it was not allowed to be loaded in the cargo bay. He was unaware that this particular roll-aboard suitcase even had a built-in charger. I brought it to my Captain's attention. To minimize any inconvenience to the customer we were able to store it in the overhead bin. The passenger thanked us for bringing this to his attention and the flight continued without any further issues. The event occurred because the passenger failed to read the fine print in his owner manual. Checking this roll-aboard without first removing the built-in lithium ion battery is a violation of IATA regulations. To remove the battery the user must unzip the interior lining and use the included screwdriver to open the case and slide it out. The screwdriver may not be TSA approved and will probably end up being confiscated at most security screening checkpoints. Our ramp agents should have training on how to spot this type of luggage. However; I worry that there will soon be other competitors that copy this design making it very difficult to spot. I foresee this being a serious safety issue. I hate to think what could happen if a little rain or liquid leaking from a piece of luggage gets inside the battery and causes a short. If our rampers and gate agents can't be trained to spot this type of luggage; I'm going to make the recommendation that this luggage be permanently banned on all flights and that the batteries be removed and confiscated by TSA at all security screening checkpoints.
CRJ-700 First Officer expressed concern that luggage with a built-in Lithium-Ion battery should not be loaded with checked baggage.