LUV Southwest Airlines Co

By Georgia Wells 

Smoke coming from a Samsung Electronics Co. device prompted Southwest Airlines Co. to evacuate a flight Wednesday.

A customer on board Southwest Flight 994 from Louisville, Ky., to Baltimore noticed smoke coming from the device before the plane took off, Southwest said.

Neither Samsung nor the airline identified what model of Samsung device was involved. "Until we are able to retrieve the device, we cannot confirm that this incident involves the new Note 7," a Samsung spokeswoman said, referring to the Galaxy Note 7 phones that were prone to catching fire.

Samsung is working with authorities and Southwest to recover the device and confirm the cause of smoke, she said.

In September, Samsung initiated a recall to replace one million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in the U.S. that could ignite because of faulty lithium-ion batteries. Shortly after, the Federal Aviation Administration urged passengers to avoid using Note 7 smartphones entirely on board airlines.

If the device that overheated on the Southwest flight is a replacement Note 7 distributed during the recall, it would undermine a recall process that has already been plagued by confusion and consumer frustration.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating the incident and has reached out to the FAA, Samsung and the owner of the phone, said the commission's chairman Elliot Kaye. In September, the commission launched a formal recall of the Note 7, two weeks after Samsung announced a voluntary recall of the smartphone.

Samsung's devices aren't the only electronics to catch fire. Lithium-ion batteries, like the ones in Samsung's Note 7 phones, power many of today's mobile electronic devices and have also been known to catch fire.

Many airlines began ordering travelers to turn off their Note 7 phones before boarding the aircraft.

The passengers on the Southwest flight exited safely through the main cabin door, according to Southwest. There were 75 people aboard, including passengers and crew, according to the Louisville International Airport public safety department, which said it responded to the incident at 9:20 a.m.

"We encourage our customers to comply with the FAA Pack Safe guidelines, " Southwest said.

Last month, Samsung began replacing the phones with new devices equipped with different batteries. The recall was dogged by conflicting information and Samsung's failure at the outset to coordinate efforts with U.S. safety authorities.

--Doug Cameron and John McKinnon contributed to this article.

Write to Georgia Wells at Georgia.Wells@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 05, 2016 18:59 ET (22:59 GMT)

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