A passenger's carry-on bag exploded on a JetBlue flight, sparking a fire that sent terrified passengers running as crew members rushed to douse the flames.
Jimmy Levy captured the commotion aboard Flight 1401 on Monday, which was set to depart from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Video posted on Instagram shows the moments after the explosion. Flight attendants are seen pouring bottles of water on Levy's backpack to contain the flames as other passengers try to exit the plane during a chaotic evacuation.
The 25-year-old from Aventura said he had stowed his backpack under his seat and was waiting for the delayed flight to take off when he laid his head against the window and fell asleep. Moments later he was jolted awake by a loud boom.
"Two minutes later, a giant explosion came, and the ball of fire — which was my backpack — came right toward my face. I was shocked," Levy said, noting his backpack had shot up from under the seat. "When I pushed down the backpack, it kind of landed on my lap, so it started burning my thigh right away, and I pushed it down to the ground and started stomping on it."
Levy's mother and sister, who were sitting in the seats next to him, started screaming and surrounding passengers were "freaking out." The flight's crew members rushed over with bottles of water and began pouring it over the backpack to prevent the fire from spreading.
Levy, a former contestant on "American Idol" with over a million Instagram followers, is Jewish and has posted publicly his thoughts on the Israel-Hamas war. He said his initial thought was that someone had shot him and he was "under attack" over his political views.
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"I had no clue what to think," he said.
In a statement to NBC, a spokesman for JetBlue said safety is there number one priority and the flight “was evacuated while at the gate before takeoff due to a customer’s malfunctioning electronic device or battery. Our crew immediately responded and addressed the situation, and there were no requests for medical assistance.” The incident is still under investigation.
Levy said investigators told him a portable charger in his bag was to blame from the fire. The charger was not in use at the time, which Levy said is even more concerning and "scary."
“Everyone was just very confused," he said. "I was confused, too. I didn’t even know my portable charger was in my backpack. It wasn't even on, it was just there."
Levy doesn’t know what type of battery he had, but he said it was expensive and he plans on returning to the store where he purchased it to find out.
“It’s a portable charger from a fancy mall, so it wasn't some random thing," he said. "So my message is be careful, any type of battery or charger can just go off at any time."
Lithium-ion batteries are allowed in carry-on bags in planes and are commonly used in electronic devices like cellphones, computers and e-bikes. However, this isn't the first case of lithium-ion batteries causing similar explosions and fires on flights. Back in February, seven people were injured on a United Airlines flight to New Jersey after a lithium-ion battery exploded in the cabin.
Levy said the explosion on his flight, which was already delayed for hours at the gate, could have been worse.
“I do believe that delay was divine intervention, and I believe it was God that delayed the plane, because if we would have been in the air and the explosion happened with the cabin pressure, the whole flight could have been on fire," he said. "It was really crazy.
Levy said he suffered burns on his hands and thigh, but he's just "happy everyone's OK."
The evacuated passengers were rebooked on other flights. Levy and his family stayed in New York overnight because "they didn't want to get on a plane right away after that." They eventually got on a flight the next day.
