NTSB looks to laptop batteries as possible cause of plane fire {Engadget}

Jul 15th 2006 10:48PM The author of the post fails to mention that OEM laptop batteries rarely fail, it is only the cheap aftermarket ones that do, as in the case of the exploding Dell. If you ever get a chance, take apart one of the Li-Ion batteries that the major manufacturers (Dell, IBM) supply with their machines. You'll find that they use name brand cells, and the batteries use temperature sensors and advanced safety systems to ensure that this sort of thing never happens. Almost all laptop batteries are perfectly safe, a point which the originator of this article unfortunately misses in his cynical alarmist rant.