Don't go looking for your lost phone on a Qantas flight.
 

From 'The register' ...

Airline safety spiel prohibits finding lost phones ? The Register

Actually

Don't go looking for your 'lost' phone on ANY flight, if you're going to cause a fire!!!

More to the point, don't move your seat or anyone else's in the process of looking for your phone. I doubt they care if you check your pockets and your handbag.

Actually, the pre-flight safety spiel on Qantas is quite novel.

Re the mobile phone dropping down the back of the seat the procedure is don't recline the seat and call the hostie.

See, I was paying attention after all.

Same on BA
 

They said exactly the same on my BA flight last week

Sounds like a pretty sensible precaution to me. That phone arcing up with all the resultant smoke, would definitely create some major consternation.

Cathay make a similar announcement about phones and Air New Zealand make one about making sure children's fingers are clear before moving seats.

3 lost phones on 3 different flights in the last 2 months. It's becoming an epidemic. And what if the seat is reclined when the phone falls in and the flight is full? Jump seat?

All phones should be placed in in jug of water on boarding.

I heard this warning when on half a dozen QF sectors in Feb/April this year. So perhaps there was another event that preceeded the event reported as May this year.

Same on Lufthansa couple of months ago (A380, if it makes a difference)

Goes along with making sure your camera's clear of the sidestick when you move your
seat forward

Well before this incident it was known that moving the position of a seat would most likely destroy any lost objects. Best to pull the cushions up first and go looking for any lost items with a torch.

Bad seat design... maybe.

It's lucky the fire didn't spread. All kinds of paper items find their way down there, too... menus, customs/immigration cards, safety cards, inflight magazines...

The issue of lost phones in seats is already known since this incident:
Report: Air France B772 over Atlantic on Dec 9th 2010, lithium battery fire in cabin
A lot of airlines have the announcement for some time.

This would require all passenger aircraft to contain big jugs...

And sadly the uniforms nowadays won't support that skridlov...

And keep on eye on those sheep

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhbXFHrDmTg

I've had to retrieve a fair number of lost electronics. My favorite is when I handed a gentleman his freshly-modified L-shaped iPhone. I'm guessing he'll keep better track of it in the future.

Someone needs to produce a flying vest with lots of pockets like an anglers vest. Somewhere for phone, kindle, headphones, toothbrush, tablets, glasses, wallet, water bottle, passport ... Get it FAA approved for use on evacuation slides. It would be handy for passing through security when you have to empty your pockets as well. Just dump the whole vest in the tray. All the passengers problems solved except for looking like a dork !

Many already have, mmurray. I had one about 6 years ago but left it in a (good quality) hotel in Oxford and the expensive jacket was never seen again ...