An overnight Virgin Atlantic flight from New York to London was forced into making an emergency landing after a phone charger triggered a fire on-board.
All 217 Passengers had to abandon the Airbus A330 when firefighters were called to the plane at 9pm last night in Boston.
Smoke appeared in the cabin only 25 minutes into its journey to Heathrow from JFK airport, information from Flightaware showed.
Massachusetts state police bomb disposal officers examined the aircraft after it landed and found a device between the cushions of a seat which had ignited.
The police believe a mobile phone power bank may have caused the fire.
“Preliminary investigation suggests it is a battery pack consistent in appearance with an external phone charger”, a police spokesman told reporters after the incident.
All of the passengers and crew members were brought to safety, though one refused treatment for a 'smoke-related complaint'.
One passenger, Cory Tanner, said: “Everyone could smell the smoke but was not told what the problem was until we landed. Once we landed all we were told was, there is a fire in first class.
Having to sit here in a smokey cabin while we wait for firefighters to board and check things out isn't great... Shouldn't the priority be to get everyone off the plane first?”
Virgin Atlantic said it was “investigating” what led to the smoke appearing in the cabin.
“The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority and we are currently investigating to fully understand the circumstances,” a company spokeswoman said.
An American Airlines flight also made an emergency landing at the airport earlier on Thursday after a cockpit light indicated an unspecified mechanical problem as it approached Boston.