Device ‘catches fire’ on American Airlines flight to Phoenix. Here’s what happened

US-based airline operator, American Airlines flight 357 which was on its way to Phoenix from Philadelphia in United States, made a sudden diversion to land at Washington’s Dulles International Airport on Sunday, 24 August 2025, after an alert of smoke reportedly coming out of a passenger’s device, reported multiple news portals. 

According to the local media reports, the American Airlines flight 357 ‘landed safely’ at the Dulles Airport on Sunday after reports of smoke from a passenger’s device fire.

“The device was quickly contained by crew members prior to landing,” said American Airlines, in an official statement after the incident, reported the news portal ABC News.

However, the authorities did not specify the type of this device which caught on fire causing the smoke, and there were no arrets or injuries confirmed due to the incident on Sunday. 

The news portal’s report also highlighted that a fellow passenger who was on board the aircraft and sitting on the emergency exit seat was suddenly awakened by flight attendants ‘jumping on her seat’ to grab the fire extinguisher to douse the fire from the mysterious device.

“Then I started smelling smoke, and a lot of people on the plane were coughing,” the passenger said, cited the news portal. “But I looked behind me, and what we could tell was that there was something on fire in the aisle,” she said.

What happened to the crew and passengers?

According to a Fox News report citing an airline spokesperson on Sunday, the emergency personnel met with the aircraft after its landing, and the passengers and crew were deboarded normally.

The news portal’s report suggests that there were 160 passengers and six crew members on board the American Airlines flight 357, apart from the two pilots at the cockpit.

“We appreciate the professionalism of our crew and thank our team who are working to get our customers to their destination as quickly as possible,” American Airlines said in the statement.

According to the news report, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said that there were no impact on the flight operations at Dulles International Airport due to the sudden diversion landing of the American Airlines flight 357.

As per the reports on Sunday, the aviation regulator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the incident.