This is not hot news right out of the press, news are from 3 july, but I searched PPR and couldn´t find any exchange of experiences on this, so here we go.
Worrying since pax don´t have a clue when they pack...
Litium-batteri nära orsaka flygkrasch | Flyg | Resa | Aftonbladet
Googletrans:
Lithium-battery near the cause plane crash
A lithium battery was in the summer close to causing an air disaster.
270 people were on board the Emirates flight-to July 3 forced an emergency landing in Chinese Urumqi.
Afterwards found several burnt-out bags in the cargo compartment.
The pilots on board the plane, a Boeing 777-300 en route from Beijing to Dubai, acted quickly and activated extinguishing system.
Then they asked to make an emergency landing in Urumqi where emergency services were prepared.
Everything went without mishap. In the most fire-ravaged bag then found the remains of a burned-out lithium battery.
Lithium batteries are commonly found in computers and cell phones and are known because they can overheat under extreme conditions.
113 incidents
Since 1991 and up to 2011 are 113 reported incidents with batteries that triggered the smoke, fire or extreme heat on aircraft.
It's okay to have batteries in the computer or for example in an Iphone, but they are now banned from checked baggage.
The pilots killed
And there is reason for the ban. Two plane crashes, both fatal, have been linked to just overheated lithium batteries.
A UPS cargo plane crashed in Dubai in autumn 2010 and both pilots were killed. A similar incident happened last year when a South Korean cargo, an Asiana Airlines Boeing 747, crashed into the sea. Again killed the two pilots.
Incident with Emirates plane July 3 is considered the most serious incident on a passenger plane ever