United flight from Newark makes sudden landing after charger fire

A United flight from Newark headed to Nassau, Bahamas had to land in Daytona Beach after a phone battery charger caught fire while in the air on Wednesday, according to a post on the Daytona International Airport Facebook page.

None of the 130 passengers on board United flight 1456, which left Newark at 7:43 a.m., were injured because of the fire, which the airport said was contained to the passenger's bag. The charger was placed in a fire retardant case until the plane landed in Daytona, according to the airport.

The plane, an Airbus 320, was diverted to Daytona around 10:50 a.m., according to FlightAware.com, which said the flight left Daytona around 11:20 a.m. and arrived at Nassau at 12:42 p.m.

United in a statement called it a "thermal runaway event" and said passengers remained on board the plane.

The airport said the FAA will investigate the incident.

Neither United nor the airport said whether the charger was in use at the time or disclosed the brand of charger.

There is no specific FAA guideline about chargers being brought on board airplanes but rechargeable lithium batteries can only be packed into carry on baggage. The terminals on batteries must be protected from short circuit, according to the FAA's regulations.