The passenger said as she stomped on her personal, battery-operated earphones to extinguish them, flight attendants doused them with a bucket of water. “The battery and cover were both melted and stuck to the floor of the aircraft,” said the woman, who was not publicly identified.

The smell of burnt hair and electronics persisted for the remainder of the flight. “People were coughing and choking the entire way home,” she told the ATSB.