A Passenger Renamed His Wi-Fi Device 'Galaxy Note 7' And Almost Got His Flight Diverted
By
Sughra Hafeez in
Bizarre
On 26th December 2016
In true 2016 fashion, over 70 Samsung Galaxy Note 7s have exploded in the United States this year (before their eventual recall). In fact, 13 people were injured by the phones in just a few months.
Understandably, since the disaster, the United States Department of Transportation has issued a strict ban on the devices.
So, if you’re looking to have a quick and painless plane flight to your holiday destination, here’s a tip: be careful about what devices (and device names) you bring with you on the plane.
#1
A Virgin America flight almost had to be diverted after a prankster passenger changed the name of their cellphone's WiFi hotspot to 'Samsung Galaxy Note 7'.
Note 7 handsets have been banned from commercial airlines after fears of exploding batteries and have now been recalled and withdrawn from sale.
#2
Passenger Lucas Wojciechowski made a disturbing discovery during his Virgin America flight from San Francisco to Boston on Tuesday.
#3
He then noticed a WiFi hotspot available on board called 'Samsung Galaxy Note 7_1097' and the cabin crew were alerted, before they demanded to know who had one of the devices on board.
But nobody would own up to possessing the Note device and in a series of announcements, documented by Wojciechowski on Twitter, the crew, and even the pilot warned the flight would be diverted unless the phone was found.
#4
About an hour into the flight there's an announcement "If anyone has a Galaxy Note 7, please press your call button"
Turns out, Wojciechowski wasn't the only one to notice the concerning name for the nearby wi-fi device.
#5
In one tweet he wrote: 'This isn't a joke. We're going to turn on the lights (it's 11 pm) and search everyone's bag until we find it.'
Because smuggling a Samsung phone is the new equivalent to boarding a plane with explosives strapped to your luggage.
#6
And later he posted: 'This is the captain speaking. Apparently, the plane is going to have to get diverted and searched if nobody fesses up soon.'
#7
They crew threatened to have the plane diverted unless someone came clean.
#8
A spokesman for Virgin America said: 'The U.S. Department of Transportation has banned the transport of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 onboard all U.S. aircraft, and Virgin America actively informs guests that they should not bring these devices onboard.
'As such, when our InFlight Teammates see potential evidence of this device onboard, they take it seriously. In this case, there was no such device - the safety of the passengers and crew was never in question. And to clarify, no flights were canceled or delayed as a result.
#9
iMore Editor Serenity Caldwell, who happened to be waiting for a flight out of Boston, got the details from an airline employee. The device was not, in fact, a Galaxy Note 7 a brilliant passenger simply renamed the device to GN7.
#10
This makes about as much sense as naming your wifi network 'bomb' or 'AR-15'.
#11
Don't bring a Note 7 on a plane or you will piss everyone off. And don't rename your SSID unless you want to chat with the TSA.
#12
According to BBC, Wojciechowski believed no further action was taken against the offending passenger.
We sincerely hope he's renamed his device to something no threatening, like "puppies on a plane.
