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FAA May Ban Galaxy Note 7 On Flights Due To Exploding Batteries (gizmodo.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Samsung has recalled roughly 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones after it was discovered that at least 35 of the devices had spontaneously burst into flames due to faulty batteries. As a result, the FAA is deciding whether or not to ban the devices on planes. "The FAA and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration are working on guidance related to this issue," an FAA spokesperson told Gizmodo over email. "If the device is recalled by the manufacturer, airline crew and passengers will not be able to bring recalled batteries or electronics that contain recalled batteries in the cabin of an aircraft, or in carry-on and checked baggage." Gizmodo reports: "If this sounds confusing, that's because it is. Samsung has already "recalled" the Galaxy Note 7, but the South Korean company hasn't actually recalled it the right way. The proper way to institute a recall is to get the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission involved from the beginning. Samsung didn't do that. And now, federal agencies like the FAA are left scrambling and days behind, trying to figure out what to do."
I hope Samsung takes one HELL of a financial beating over this, because most of the cost will be well-deserved punishment for taking away removable batteries. Had the N7 allowed batteries to be swapped, they could have given anyone who agreed to surrender their defective battery two or three free replacements (total cost to Samsung: about $5-10 at eBay Chinese battery prices) and used customers as a vast, unpaid labor force to do the battery swaps. Instead, Samsung is going to have to eat the cost of a recall (including shipping) AND pay employees to swap the batteries & re-package the phones.