Samsung Galaxy Note 7 replaced as part of company’s programme explodes on plane

The news is doubly bad for Samsung, which had hoped to stem the fears about its exploding phones by launching a global recall

Samsung has suspended sales of its latest high-end smartphone Galaxy Note 7 after reports of exploding batteries (Getty)

Another Samsung phone has exploded leading to an evacuation of a plane, in the most damaging spontaneous combustion of the company’s new Note 7 yet.

Samsung announced last month that there was something wrong with its Note 7 phone that meant it could explode while it was charging. That led to a global recall, and Samsung indicated that it would give replacement phones to anyone affected and that those would be safe.

But the new explosion appears to be the result of a replacement phone, according to its owner. That might indicate that even those judged safe by Samsung actually aren’t.

The device created smoke and led to a plane being evacuated at Louisville International Airport, according to officials. It was evacuated before it could depart as planned for Baltimore, Louisville Metro Arson Capt. Kevin Fletcher told news outlets.

That led to 75 people being quickly moved from the fight, and nobody was injured. There was some damage to the plane’s carpet where the device was dropped.

Sarah Green, of New Albany, Indiana said that her husband Brian had said that the Galaxy Note 7 made a popping noise and then started smoking when he powered it down, according to the local Courier-Journal. The phone was a replacement that had been received two weeks ago as part of the recall, Ms Green said.

Airlines including Southwest, whose flight was affected, advise that people with the Samsung phone must carry them on rather than putting them in their luggage. They should also be kept turned off and not be plugged in, and passengers should make sure they can’t accidentally be turned on, the airline said.

That came after a Federal Aviation Administration advisory that passengers shouldn’t use or charge the phone while on board. They also shouldn’t be put in checked bags, the report said.

But phones with the green battery icon on them are exempt from that advisory. That is supposed to indicate that the phone is a replacement – but is said to have been included on the phone that blew up on the plane.

Samsung said in a statement that the company can't confirm that the new Note7 was involved in the incident and is working with authorities to recover the device and confirm the cause.