Terrifying reason why you have to alert flight attendant if you drop your phone down the seat

There's a terrifying but good reason why you have to alert a flight attendant if you drop your phone down the side of a plane seat.

Misplacing your passport or your phone will understandably inspire a panic when you're about to jet off on your travels.

However, before you go into a frantic search, airlines warn you have to inform the cabin crew if your phone disappears down the side of your seat - and understandably so, unless you want to be responsible for a much bigger issue.

They're more hazardous than you may think (Getty Stock Image)

The problem is that it's easier to ignite a blaze on an aircraft than you may think, and it all comes down to the small devices we carry around with us.

Back in 2018, a man's phone started 'smoking' when on a Qantas flight to Melbourne, Australia.

It all happened after he dropped his phone and tried to retrieve it himself, moving his seat and crushing the device.

Luckily, cabin crew were able to 'contain the situation'.

As it transpired, the tiny yet mighty lithium batteries can potentially spark a fire or even a small explosion when they're crushed.

As a result, passengers are now told to contact cabin crew every time they lose a phone down the side of a seat.

Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority issued a statement on the matter, saying: "Smartphones can fall into aircraft seat mechanisms and be crushed when the seat is moved. This can result in damage to the phone’s lithium battery which can cause overheating and fire."

The statement continued: "Passengers must remember never to move their seat if a phone goes missing while in-flight and to always ask the aircraft cabin crew for assistance.

“If a phone is damaged cabin crew should be alerted immediately."

If your phone falls down the side of the seat, you have to tell cabin crew immediately (Getty Stock Image)

In August 2021, a cell cellphone caught fire in the cabin of an Alaska Airlines flight, prompting passengers and crew to be evacuated.

In two separate incidents in 2018, a passenger's bag went up in flames on a China Southern flight which saw cabin crew battle the blaze, then in July, a phone battery burst into flames mere moments before take-off, prompting the plane to evacuate on an inflatable slide.

However, that's not to say you should check your phone into your bags in the hold, either.

Pilot Patrick Smith told Sun Online Travel that phones in the lower hold of the aircraft could pose an even bigger threat.

Smith said: "I would be concerned with fires in the lower hold.

"If one was to occur then crew people on board won’t have an understanding of what is happening or how fast it’s spreading."

And while holds in aircrafts are equipped with fire suppressant systems, they 'aren't always effective' in putting out those kinds of fires, he added.

It's not just phones that pose a safety risk either, as the pilot said portable power banks can also cause a fire.