iPhone Smokes on Airplane Down Under

Australian airline reports dealing with smoking smartphone.

"Siri, how do I keep an iPhone 4 from exploding on a plane?"

That is a question one man would have asked his iPhone 4S before boarding a flight from Lismore to Sydney, Australia.

While traveling between the two cities Friday, a passenger's iPhone 4 — not a 4S, for the record — began "emitting a significant amount of dense smoke, accompanied by a red glow," according to a statement by the airline Regional Express.

The plane was landing when the phone began smoking. Upon landing, the phone was turned over to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, who are investigating what caused the Apple smartphone to overheat.

This is not the first time a device from one of Apple's Cupertino labs has overheated and caught fire.

In 2006, Apple recalled its first-generation iPod Nano because an overheating battery caused a safety risk.

Three years later, the European Union launched an investigation into reports of iPhones and iPod Touches catching fire or exploding.

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