A major lithium battery fire occurred in an overhead locker on a Virgin Australia Boeing 737 flight from Sydney to Hobart on July 21st, 2025. Whilst preparing the cabin for landing, the cabin crew were alerted to smoke, and the sounds of pops and hisses.

A lithium battery fire is a cabin crew's worst nightmare. Because once one cell ignites, you risk something called Thermal Runaway, where the adjacent cells begin to overheat and ignite as well - causing the fire to spread quickly and uncontrollably. The key is too cool it down fast. But what if the lithium battery is hard to locate? And what if the aircraft is rapidly coming into land?

In this true story, we hear about how the crew acted fast, and used both their extensive training, and their ability to think outside the box to save lives.

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The Red Eye Podcast is written by Kaylie Kay, and produced and narrated by Ally Murphy.

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Ally Murphy is a former flight attendant, and a British voice over artist based in the USA, visit www.allymurphy.co.uk

Kaylie Kay is a flight attendant and author based in the UK. You can find more of her work at www.kayliekaywrites.com

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