FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) - A former “American Idol” contestant is sharing his story following an incident on a JetBlue flight from New York to South Florida where his bag suddenly caught on fire as he waited for takeoff.
Video from an Instagram video posted by singer Jimmy Levy on Wednesday captured the chaotic moments after crew members and passengers on board JetBlue Flight 1401 helped put out the flames.
The caption reads, “My backpack just exploded on my flight, Thank God everyone is ok…”
Speaking with 7News on Thursday, Levy said he was abruptly awakened by intense heat while waiting for his delayed flight to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to take off on Monday.
His backpack, initially stowed beneath the seat in front of him, had become engulfed in flames.
“I close my eyes, I go to sleep, I hear a big explosion,” he said, “and I opened my eyes, and my backpack that was under my seat shoots up in like a ball of fire coming toward my face, and I push it down.”
Seconds later, Levy said, crew members and passengers came running to help prevent the flames from spreading.
“It’s crazy, and then all of a sudden, everyone came and started pouring water, and the first thing, I thought someone was like – it was like an attack. I thought someone was trying to attack me,” said Levy.
On his Instagram post, Levy wrote, “I am convinced that this entire scenario was a spiritual attack from the pits of hell and I rebuke it in then name of Jesus! I rejoice during this time, because I only have a few burns on my hands.”
But it turns out the blaze was likely caused by the portable charger in his bag.
“It was definitely off. I haven’t used it, you know, I didn’t really use it the whole trip, so it was just in my bag, I guess,” said Levy. “I had my hats, my portable charger and my wallet.”
Now, after living through this, Levy had some advice for fellow travelers.
“Be very careful of what you have in your carry-on. It’s the things that you don’t expect, like, something that seems as innocent as a portable charger that I guess is made overseas in places we don’t know about and can go off at any time,” he said. “Just stay prayed up, because God definitely protected me during this time.”
No one was hurt.
JetBlue responded to the incident with a statement saying the flight “was evacuated while at the gate before takeoff due to a customer’s malfunctioning electronic device or battery. Our crew immediately responded and addressed the situation, and there were no requests for medical assistance.”
JetBlue officials said they continue to investigate this incident.
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