The U.S. government has decided those exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7s, both the original and recall models, are unsafe for flight. All Galaxy Note 7 models have been banned for every flight in America, even if the phone is turned completely off. According to a report from Bloomberg News, city an anonymous source, “ Flight restrictions were extended to each of the 1.9 million Note 7s sold in the U.S. and the devices now can’t be carried aboard aircraft even if they’ve been shut off.”
According to Bloomberg the Federal Aviation Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration will announce the decision Friday. The Galaxy Note 7 was unveiled in August just a month before the launch of Apple’s iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. Reports suggest the rush to release its latest smartphone before its leading rival could led to the Note 7 not getting enough testing prior to launch.
Soon after the release of the Galaxy Note 7 users quickly started complaining about phones exploding and catching on fire. This lead to a recall of ALL Note 7s. After replacement models began shipping in late September and into early October it became clear Samsung did not fix the exploding Note 7 problem. This week Samsung announced it is halting all sales of the Galaxy Note 7 line.
It also noted in a statement that the Note 7 line would cost the company around $3 billion for the quarter. Samsung expects the exploding Galaxy Note 7 phones will continue to hurt the company’s sales into next year. Samsung “expects the drop in revenue from the discontinued sales to continue to have a negative impact on operating profit for the next two quarters.”
Samsung plans to shift focus from the exploding Galaxy Note 7s and subsequent Note 7 recalls to its flagship Galaxy S and Edge line.
“Additionally, the company will focus on enhancing product safety for consumers by making significant changes in its quality assurance processes,” the company said in a statement.
