Safety
Cargo Carriage of Lithium Batteries Suspected in Some Accidents
Firefighters douse a blaze on board a UPS DC-8 at Philadelphia International. Lithium-ion batteries were initially considered a source of the fire, but the NTSB later determined they were not the source of ignition.
Firefighters douse a blaze on board a UPS DC-8 at Philadelphia International. Lithium-ion batteries were initially considered a source of the fire, but the NTSB later determined they were not the source of ignition.

The prospect of one laptop computer or smartphone erupting into lithium-battery-fed flames is daunting enough, but what about a pallet of lithium batteries carried as cargo? Some fiery accidents have been blamed on just that, and so far authorities have done little to prevent this type of accident from recurring.