Bringing a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on a Plane now a Federal Crime

Whiles there are surely few people stupid enough to keep hold of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone – at risk of the handset’s battery either bursting into flames or emitting toxic smoke – following the Korean company globally recalling the faulty device and permanently ceasing its production, those who do still possess the phone are now legally prohibited from taking it onboard a plane within the US.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued Emergency Restriction/Prohibition Order No. FAA-2016- 9288, which prohibits passengers from taking a Note 7 on to an aircraft, either “on their person, in carry-on baggage, in checked baggage, or as cargo,” and to do so is a Federal crime.

The Emergency Order:

• prohibits persons from offering for air transportation or transporting via air any Samsung Galaxy Note 7 device on their person, in carry-on baggage, in checked baggage, or as cargo; requires individuals who inadvertently bring a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 device onto an aircraft immediately power off the device, not use or charge the device while aboard the aircraft, protect the device from accidental activation, including disabling any features that may turn on the device, such as alarm clocks, and keep the device on their person and not in the overhead compartment, seat back pocket, nor in any carry-on baggage, for the duration of the flight;

• requires air carriers to alert passengers to the prohibition against air transport of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices, in particular, immediately prior to boarding, and to deny boarding to a passenger in possession of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 device unless and until the passenger divests themselves and their baggage of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 device;

• and requires that if an air carrier flight crew member identifies that a passenger is in possession of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 device while the aircraft is in flight, the crew member must instruct the passenger to power off the device and not to use or charge the device onboard the aircraft and protect the device from accidental activation, including disabling any features that may turn on the device, such as alarm clocks, and keep the device on their person and not in the overhead compartment, seat back pocket, nor in any carry-on baggage, for the duration of the flight.

Passengers found to be carrying a Galaxy Note 7 phone on-board a plane will be “subject to civil penalties of up to $179,933 for each violation for each day they are found to be in violation (49 U.S.C. 5123),” and be liable for prosecution, which could “result in fines under title 18, imprisonment of up to ten years, or both (49 U.S.C. 5124).”