Battery overheated and swelled up on flight while in carryon bag. Battery was put in explosives box

[Cgkb318!]

Hello, this is my first post on this forum and not a good one at that. This morning I took my mavic pro out and all seemed normal. I discharged the battery to 60% by flying for a flight I had this evening. About an hour after taking off I went to retrieve an item from my bag and realized my bag was extremely hot inside. I opened up the case my mavic was in and pulled it out of its bag and was imediatley burned by the metal on motor surrounds. I freaked out and pulled the battery out immediately and the battery was extremely swollen and easily over 350 degrees. I ended up burning my hand rushing the battery over to a flight attendant who had to alert the captain and get an explosion proof bag which I believe they called a PED. The battery was drenched and put into an explosion proof bag freaking out pretty much everyone around us on the flight. The battery was easily two minutes away from exploding and the flight attendants were extremely thankful that I had noticed otherwise the outcome would not have been as great. Before the flight the battery was completely fine, the drone did not turn on in my bag and nothing was out of the ordinary untill the incident. Their was no signs of swelling prior to the incident. The battery was confiscated thankfully so sadly I have no pictures of the battery. Can someone please advice what my next step would be in taking this case to DJI especially since I have no pictures of the incident. Best regards, Chris.

 

[GerdS]

As also the motors were very hot the Mavic must have been turned on. If it would be just a battery issue, all other components would have stayed cold or just heated up indirectly by heat distribution from the battery.
As a running Mavic produces lots of heat which cannot leave the bag this would be the best explanation to this issue, as the battery will be heated up by the Mavic itself, too. How hot was the bottom side of the Mavic?

What you can learn from this issue, don't leave a battery plugged into your Mavic during transportation.

 

[InvisibleName]

. Before the flight the battery was completely fine, the drone did not turn on in my bag and nothing was out of the ordinary untill the incident..

As above, never transport your drone in carry on with a battery installed. Also, you can buy LiPo fire proof bags to put your batteries in quite cheaply

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anbee-Batt...-1-spons&keywords=mavic+air+battery+bag&psc=1

 

[Trivan]

I’d be interested to know what the battery was drenched with. If water wouldn’t that potentially increase the problem allowing for a short? These days I put all my batteries in a lipo bag for my own peace of mind.

 

[Jeff7577]

See if there is a data log for that time period on the drone.

 

[gnirtS]

Sounds like the button got bumped and the drone turned on in flight. That can burn out motors, gimbals and batteries. I stick some tape over the terminals.
I wouldn't bother with snake oil lipo bags. No airline in the world recommends or says use them and no real proof they actually do anything. Best bet is cover the terminals or remove the battery before travel and carry it with but not installed in the drone.

 

[Niblett]

Sounds like the button got bumped and the drone turned on in flight. That can burn out motors, gimbals and batteries. I stick some tape over the terminals.
I wouldn't bother with snake oil lipo bags. No airline in the world recommends or says use them and no real proof they actually do anything. Best bet is cover the terminals or remove the battery before travel and carry it with but not installed in the drone.

100 percent on the snake oil aspect. With flames shooting out of a battery like a freshly lit acetylene torch these bags don’t stand a chance at full containment. Tape the batts and keep separated.

 

[Gray_seagull]

That's exactly what happened to me 4 months back in one of my trips. I had my MP in it's original dji soft bag tucked in my hand luggage. left the airport and took a small mini-van to my hotel. the van was already full with people and my hand luggage was forced in between the other suitcases and the top of the van. Got to the hotel, checked in my room then I heard a strange noise coming from my hand luggage. I opened it and sure enough it was my Mavic that was turned on. It was extremely hot. I managed to take it out and remove the bulged battery. I learned my lesson Not to travel with my drone while the battery is plugged in

 

[Cgkb318!]

Is there any way to absouloutely tell if the drone was powered on while in my bag. I noticed that the only parts of the drone that wet hot where the metal motor surrounds, not any other part of the drone including the bottom or the arms. I didn’t notice any noises or Leds on the drone illuminated. I just assumed the motors were the most conducive and in result would be the best absorber of the surrounding heat from the battery. I also wondered the same think about the battery being drenched in water as I thought u weren’t supposed to use water to put out battery fires. Thanks,Chris.

 

[GerdS]

Water is no problem as long as the battery cells themselves are still sealed, so the water will not come into contact with lithium. Water will be perfect for quickly cooling the battery down.

 

[Trivan]

Water is no problem as long as the battery cells themselves are still sealed, so the water will not come into contact with lithium. Water will be perfect for quickly cooling the battery down.

So water on the contacts, potentially closing the circuit wouldn’t be a problem? (Not challenging, just asking). Isn’t it why people say tape the contacts so you don’t short the battery?

 

[Lapeer20m]

So water on the contacts, potentially closing the circuit wouldn’t be a problem? (Not challenging, just asking). Isn’t it why people say tape the contacts so you don’t short the battery?

Water is a poor conductor of electricity. The more purified water is, the more of an insulator it becomes. It is my understanding that the impurities in water conduct electricity, not water itself.

The reason a toaster in the bathtub is such a big deal is due to surface area.

 

[Earendil]

Water is a poor conductor of electricity. The more purified water is, the more of an insulator it becomes. It is my understanding that the impurities in water conduct electricity, not water itself.

The reason a toaster in the bathtub is such a big deal is due to surface area.

Pure water is a very poor conductor, however it is difficult to find water so pure that it would cause a potential short. I'd use caution submerging the contacts on a battery.[emoji33]

 

[GerdS]

So water on the contacts, potentially closing the circuit wouldn’t be a problem?

Jusrt don't use salt water. Some current may flow dependent on water quality and conductivity, but as resistance is at least in the kiloohms range it will not be a problem for a battery to stay in there until cooled down.

 

[gnirtS]

One comical memory i have from years ago was an Egyptian bar had an electrical fire (sparks, buzzing, smoke etc). They couldnt isolate the power as they were stealing it from the supermarket next door and their first instinct was to try to fill metal buckets of sea water to throw on it.
I stood well back.

 

[mad monkey]

I'm going to take this lesson well learned!

I store my mavic air inside its factory case, and then inside a hard shell waterproof case. So odds of being bumped on are very very slim... However for unknown transport I will now be removing the battery.