Former KLM CEO allegedly sparks fire onboard after ignoring power bank rule

A passenger’s power bank exploded aboard a KLM Boeing 777 mid‑flight, igniting a fire that forced the aircraft to divert and return to its departure airport after more than five hours aloft. Inshorts reported the plane’s return after the 5½‑hour leg when a passenger’s power bank detonated, prompting a “very strange” description from another traveler. Simple Flying emphasized that the device was in violation of KLM’s strict prohibition on lithium‑ion power banks in the cabin, a rule the former chief ignored.

The NL Times identified the battery as belonging to Camiel Eurlings, the airline’s former chief executive. The Daily Beast focused on the visible flames erupting from an engine, while the New York Post framed the episode as an alleged spark caused by the rule breach. Together, the reports map a chain from prohibited device to fire and diversion.

Coverage does not yet confirm whether the fire was directly caused by the rule breach or by another malfunction, and no official investigation findings have been released. As a result, the precise responsibility of the former executive remains unresolved, and KLM’s cabin‑device policy faces renewed scrutiny.