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This article is the eighth in a series on landmark events in aviation since Flight Safety Foundation was founded in 1945.
The proliferation in recent decades of devices powered by lithium-ion batteries has spurred a new wave of dangerous goods events in commercial aviation in which cell phones, laptops, power banks, and vaping devices can overheat, presenting risks to passengers, crews, and aircraft.
Some of these events have culminated in massive fires, including the Sept. 3, 2010, blaze that destroyed a UPS Boeing 747 freighter, which crashed near Dubai International Airport, and killed its two pilots — the only people in the airplane. Investigators said the “catastrophic uncontained fire” began in a cargo pallet…
