A second Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall could take place if the device that caught fire onboard a Southwest Airlines plane is confirmed to be a replacement unit.

In light of this event, the South Korean smartphone maker's unprecedented global recall is getting even worse, building up the pressure on the company.

The Galaxy Note 7 Southwest Airlines Incident

To recap on the incident, a Galaxy Note 7 burst into flames while it was aboard the Southwest Airlines flight 944 that was set to travel from Louisville to Baltimore.

Fortunately, it was evacuated when it was still at the gate, and the crew and passengers managed to disembark without harm.

The owner of the smartphone in question claims it was a replacement device, and until that's verified, it remains unclear whether Samsung will be pushed to issue a second recall or not.

The Investigation And The Potential Second Recall

For the record, the investigators looking into the incident are the Federal Aviation Administration or FAA and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission or CPSC.

"If it's the fixed phone and it started to smoke in his pocket, I'm going to guess there'll be another recall. That just doesn't sound right," Bloomberg reports as former CPSC Executive Director Pamela Gilbert's statement.

The Exploding Galaxy Note 7 In China

The cause of the exploding issue is said to stem from faulty batteries. Except in China, the units distributed across the global market have the aforementioned defective cells.

However, a recent event in China, where a Galaxy Note 7 combusted despite the initial belief that the smartphone models in the country had safe batteries, cast doubt on the matter regarding whether or not the devices there truly aren't prone to catch fire.

According to Samsung, it's conducting an investigation of the incident.

The Bottom Line

If the Galaxy Note 7 that exploded on a Southwest Airlines plane indeed turns out to be a replacement unit, then that doesn't only mean that Samsung will have to carry out a second recall for the phablets, but it also means that the new devices handed out after the first recall could catch fire too.

In other words, this entire incident is shaping up to be one of the South Korean company's worst nightmares.

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