
Malaysia Plane Was Carrying Lithium-Ion Batteries - aburan28
http://www.businessinsider.com/malaysia-plane-lithium-ion-batteries-2014-3
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hindsightbias
[http://gigaom.com/2011/04/04/lithium-ion-batteries-
faulted-f...](http://gigaom.com/2011/04/04/lithium-ion-batteries-faulted-for-
jet-crash/)

"Lithium battery fires are typically difficult or impossible to extinguish.
Any such ‘burning metal’ fires on any type of aircraft in flight would be
extremely dangerous because they often burn very hot (several thousands of
degrees Centigrade) and are able to generate their own oxygen as they progress
through combusting battery materials. Unfortunately, depressurization of a
cargo hold is a last-ditch but nonetheless futile measure to contain them
because such fires create their own oxygen from oxide materials inside
batteries"

So you can't have an LI fire and keep flying for hours, unlike a cockpit fire.

