Passengers on parked Southwest plane forced to evacuate after cell phone, airplane seat catch fire

Travellers aboard a Southwest Airlines flight preparing to leave Denver Friday had to evacuate after a passenger’s cell phone battery caught on fire and caused an airplane seat to catch fire as well.

The Boeing 737-700 was still parked at a gate with 108 passengers on board when the incident occurred at Denver International Airport, according to Southwest.

Passengers in the back of the plane fled using the rear emergency slides, and passengers toward the front left through the front door via the jet bridge, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and the airline.

Preliminary reports show one passenger had a minor injury during the evacuation, and the passenger whose phone caught fire is currently being treated for burns, the Dallas-based airline said in a statement. Crew members were able to extinguish the seat fire, the statement said.

“Southwest’s customer care team is working to accommodate the passengers on another aircraft to their original destination of Houston,” an airline spokesperson said. “Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of its customers and employees. The incident remains under investigation.”

The flight arrived three hours later to its destination at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, according to data from FlightAware.

The FAA said it will investigate the incident.