Samsung Galaxy Note7. Image: Samsung Newsroom/Flickr/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
The continuation of a harrowing few weeks for Samsung saw a replacement Galaxy Note7 allegedly smoulder, smoke and subsequently force an airline to evacuate passengers from a US flight.
Customers of Samsung’s disastrous Galaxy Note7 may still not be safe after a replacement model, issued after the originals were found to be faulty and catching fire, seemingly proved to have the same issue.
According to The Verge, an airline passenger in the US turned off his Galaxy Note7 as a Southwest Airlines flight in Louisville was preparing for departure. He spotted “thick, grey-green, angry smoke” wafting out of a now smouldering device.
The airline evacuated the plane and nobody was injured.
Bad, bad news
The device was allegedly a replacement issued by Samsung following the previous battery problems. If this incident is confirmed, this is a greater nightmare for the South Korean company than the one they are already going through.
Issuing an almost immediate statement on the incident, Samsung seems to be in a panic.
“Until we are able to retrieve the device, we cannot confirm that this incident involves the new Note7,” it said.
“We are working with the authorities and Southwest now to recover the device and confirm the cause. Once we have examined the device, we will have more information to share.”
After nearly two-thirds of all Note7s were recalled, Samsung was confident that a fix to a faulty battery was achieved, restarting the sale of new devices at the end of September.
Off to a bad start
Samsung’s lavish launch of the Note7 was upset in late August by reports of exploding devices.
The company investigated and found that a battery cell issue was to blame, prompting recalls of the Note7 device in Europe, North America and Asia.
The full recall was expected by ‘early October’, which is around now. If replacements are also damaged goods, then it’s hard to see any chink of light at the end of the tunnel for Samsung.
The discovery of the original issue, days after the Note7 release, sent Samsung’s share price into freefall, wiping €12.5bn off its value as early as 12 September.
Samsung Galaxy Note7. Image: Samsung Newsroom/Flickr/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
