Lithium-ion batteries have been an ongoing problem for the airline industry, especially the planes hauling freight. I remember seeing a FedEx and a UPS plane exploding in the early days of transporting these batteries. Below is a piece I found on the internet that pretty well summarizes the danger of exporting Lithium-ion batteries.
It’s full blown panic time when your in the air and the plane catches fire. Nothing short of a miracle gets the plane back on the ground and the pilots can walk away. When I was flying, I always checked the manifest of the freight I was carrying underneath. Pilots don’t normally get a copy of the freight manifest, so I would look over the manifest that the ground crew had in their possession. I was very careful as to what batteries I carried. If I gad the larger batteries onboard, I would gave the ground crew remove them. United gave me some heat, but I reminded them that they weren’t flying the plane, nor where they onboard the plane. Safety came first on my plane.
From Mr. Google or AI:
The number of planes catching fire due to lithium-ion battery explosions is a growing concern, with
nearly two incidents per week in the U.S. in 2024,
according to the FAA data reported by CBS News and
ctif.org. In 2024, there were 89 such incidents recorded by the FAA, and between 2006 and 2024, the FAA confirmed a total of 644 incidents involving lithium batteries on aircraft. A large majority of these incidents involve portable consumer devices, and while a small percentage result in a fire, the overall frequency is increasing.
Have a look for yourself: