Airbus A-320-232 incident near New York, New York, February 10, 2007
On February 10, 2007 at about 5:45 pm local time, a Airbus A-320-232, registered N648JB, was involved in an incident near New York, New York (John F Kennedy Intl airport). It was flown under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 136 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The in-flight fire which was caused by the catastrophic failure of a 9-volt battery from an unknown cause.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 10, 2007 · about 5:45 pm local time
- Place
- New York, New York · John F Kennedy Intl · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 136 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Airbus A-320-232 · all A-320-232s on the register
- Registration
- N648JB · registry record · serial 2970
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During climbout from the departure airport, a flight attendant noticed smoke coming from a bag containing camera equipment in one of the overhead bins. She extinguished the smoke, and notified the captain of the situation. He declared an emergency, and the airplane landed uneventfully at the departure airport approximately 6 minutes later. Examination of the bag containing camera equipment revealed that remnants of a 9-volt battery sustained damage consistent with a catastrophic battery failure. The main component of the 9-volt battery had a flashpoint of 21 degrees Fahrenheit, or room temperature. Other batteries, located in the same pocket of the equipment bag as the 9-volt battery, had unprotected contacts, including two fully charged 14-volt battery packs. One of the 14-volt battery packs displayed significant exterior thermal damage, consistent with damage from coming in contact with another battery. Battery industry research has revealed that a short circuit is the most common cause of battery fires, often initiated by contacts coming into contact with metal objects. Batteries are generally not designed to be able to contain catastrophic failures, and when they go into thermal runaway, they often explode and expel their contents into the environment, potentially causing ignition in areas well beyond the initiating battery cell.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine:; 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JFK New York NY at 5:45 pm
- Destination: NAS Nassau
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 9°F (-13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 5:51 pm from JFK
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 130 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.