A fire official says smoke that led to the evacuation of a plane at Louisville International Airport was caused by a Samsung device.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A fire official says smoke that led to the evacuation of a plane at Louisville International Airport was caused by a Samsung device.

An airport spokesperson told WAVE 3 that a Southwest Airlines flight, a Boeing 737, was departing from Louisville heading to Baltimore when the smoke was discovered at 9:20 a.m.



Louisville Metro Arson Capt. Kevin Fletcher said the device overheated Wednesday morning and began to smoke, which led Southwest Airlines to evacuate the plane prior to departure.

Brian Green of New Albany says he had returned his recall Note 7 for a new one just two weeks ago. But he says it was that replacement devie that began smoking in the cabin of the jet as it sat on the tarmac.

"Just placed the phone in my pocket and within a few a few seconds I heard a pop, similar to like a Ziploc bag popping open, I looked around to see what was happening and I just had smoke pouring out of my clothes and my pocket," Green said.



Airport authority spokeswoman Natalie Chaudoin said 75 passengers and crew were evacuated. She says no one was injured.



Fletcher says there was minor damage to the plane's carpet where the device was dropped.



U.S. safety regulators announced a formal recall last month of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after a spate of fires led to injuries and property damage.



Samsung said in a statement that it's working with authorities to recover the device and confirm the cause.

Passenger Misty Whitaker told WAVE 3 that the smoke came from a cell phone.



"I was sitting at the front of the plane and I noticed a flight attendant coming quickly down the aisle saying ... there's smoke on the plane," she said. "Leave all of your bags on the plane and come forward in an orderly fashion ... They said it was a Samsung Galaxy. The last they told us while we were waiting was that the fire had burned through the carpet."

The flight was canceled and passengers were rerouted to Baltimore.

No one was injured in the incident.

Southwest issued a statement shortly before 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in response to the incident: