While sleeping on a flight from Beijing to Australia, a woman woke up to the sound of a loud explosion and a burning sensation on her face.
Two hours into her flight, the woman's battery-operated headphones exploded and caught fire, according to a press release from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).
"I continued to feel burning so I grabbed them off and threw them on the floor. They were sparking and had small amounts of fire," the woman told ATSB.
Flight attendants helped put out the fire from the headphones, but both the battery and cover melted to the floor of the plane. Passengers smelled melted plastic, burnt hair and smoke for the remainder of the flight.
"People were coughing and choking the entire way home," the passenger told ATSB.
ATSB officials said the batteries in the headphones likely caught fire, and listed safety precautions when bringing battery-powered devices on an aircraft.
The agency posted photos of the woman's injuries from the incident on its webpage.
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