Galaxy Note 7 explodes as passengers board Louisville flight

Update: Brian Green, the passenger in ownership of the Note 7 in question, has been in contact withThe Verge and revealed a few worrying details of the incident. Specifically, he says he picked up the new device from AT&T on September 21st, which would, by default, render it of the 'safe' denomination. He also provided an image of the original packaging, which includes the black square that Samsung added to clearly signify a safe model. 

Green says he powered the device down and placed it in his pocket as he boarded the plane, but it then began to emit a "thick grey-green angry smoke". He promptly dropped it onto the floor and a short while later, it had burned through the carpet of the plane. At the time of the incident, the Note 7 had about 80 percent battery and since it was in his pocket, seemingly wasn't on charge. Additionally, Green says he'd only been using wireless charging feature since he purchased it, rather than connected power-up through the USB Type-C port.

The Verge ran the IMEI through Samsung's recall checker and found that Green's deviceshould have been of no cause for concern. If it's confirmed that Green's Note 7 was indeed one of the 'safe' newer models, a second recall for Samsung would very possible. This would be adisaster for Samsung not just financially, but wold also hit the company's fragile consumer relations.

The scrap to establish precise facts is underway and meanwhile, Samsung has had this to say on the matter. 

Until we are able to retrieve the device, we cannot confirm that this incident involves the new Galaxy Note7. 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.

The device, which you may also see a snap of below, is now being held by the Louisville Fire Department's arson unit, according to The Verge's report. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has also opened an investigation. 

We previously heard of a Galaxy Note 7 owner in China whose device apparently exploded, damaging his MacBook in the process. Since all Galaxy Note 7 units intended for China were not kitted out with the suspect SDI batteries, the launch was People's Republic went ahead as planned right as the worldwide recall was commencing. If it's found that the ATL batteries are also susceptible to explosion, China would seemingly be a part of any secondary recall.

Brian Green, meanwhile, is apparently now an iPhone 7 owner.