On the morning of the 10th, smoke was reported in the cabin of a T'way Air passenger plane bound for Cheongju International Airport from Sanya Phoenix International Airport in Hainan province, China, after a portable battery caught fire. Three flight attendants who responded initially inhaled smoke and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. All passengers were reported to have returned home.
According to T'way Air and others, at about 2:10 a.m., smoke came from a battery carried by a passenger on T'way Air flight TW634, which departed Sanya Phoenix International Airport with six pilots and flight attendants and 32 passengers.
The flight attendants initially responded by submerging the portable battery in water. During this process, five passengers and three flight attendants inhaled smoke. The flight landed at Cheongju International Airport at 6:37 a.m., about 40 minutes earlier than the originally scheduled arrival time of 7:15 a.m.
A T'way Air official said, "We are working with authorities to determine the exact circumstances."