I just went out and had a 6 mm thick SS enclosure fabricated for my Galaxy S2 so I don't self immolate with it in my pocket. I also put a 100mm spacer between the battery and the phone so it doesn't short out. I have 3 temperature and pressure sensors installed, hooked up with Bluetooth to my headset, to warn me about impending doom. All of this so I can hook up my cheap 2 dollar knock off charger to my 7 dollar knock off Chinese battery. I believe everybody should have this setup and am going to demand all government safety bodies implement these measures immediately.
Does this sound silly? Of course it does.
This is extremely mature technology, that has a minor flaw that will be fixed.
All the short circuits were effects, not causal. You can put all the space between cells you desire. You can put 100 meters between each cell, but the cells will still short circuit internally if they heat and swell up. This is thermal runaway.
Extra sensors, in an aircraft? Maybe. I would vote yes.