Samsung Electronics Co.’s global recall of Note 7 smartphones received a fresh blow after a replacement device was blamed for smoke that led to the evacuation of a Southwest Airlines Co. plane.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are investigating Wednesday’s incident, they said in e-mailed statements. Samsung started replacing Note 7s around the world last month because a flaw in its lithium battery can lead to overheating, posing a burn hazard to consumers.
The phone on the Southwest plane was a replacement for a recalled Note 7, the device’s owner, Brian Green, told The Verge, a technology news-focused website. Green said he picked up the phone at an AT&T Inc. store on Sept. 21, and showed The Verge a photograph of the box that displayed a black square symbol indicating a replacement phone. Bloomberg News last week interviewed a customer in China who said his new Note 7 had exploded less than 24 hours after it was delivered.
