s&r -

I rather thought that the lead sentence:

Stepping off an airplane wing that's not grounded on landing

would be assumed to apply to what followed immediately thereafter; however I should have applied the adage that "nothing's stupid proof, 'cause stupid people are too damned clever."

The biggest hazard encountered with Lithium batteries is their unpredictable habit of setting things on fire. And it's not just "when they first came out," as several laptop makers, among others, have had recent Li battery recalls. Lithium reacts vigorously with water, including humidity in the air. Any moisture encapsulated in a battery during manufacture (a manufacturing defect), and/or any leakage of the battery case can cause problems.

It's also been suggested that Lithium oxide produced by battery leakage could be a problem in enclosed spaces, since it's known to be "mood affecting" and in high doses can have unpredictable effects. My own "professional" requests for comment on this subject went unanswered a few years back; but the battery makers' failure to respond persuaded "management" to not use them in at least one commercial airplane system (that I know of) where they were originally included by the designer.

John