Samsung Galaxy Note 7 wifi prank sparks explosion fears on Virgin flight as pilot threatens to divert the plane
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones are banned from flights over fire hazard fears
A PRANKSTER caused chaos on Virgin flight after switching the name of their wi-fi hotspot to “Galaxy Note 7_1097,” which led crew and passengers to believe the device was being used somewhere on the flight.
Galaxy Note 7 phones are banned from planes after they began mysteriously catching fire.
Samsung were forced to recall the smartphones and have "bricked" those left out in the wild after reports of them bursting into flames in people's pockets and hands.
was on Virgin America flight 358 from San Francisco to Boston when he spotted the wi-fi hotspot on his laptop.
After the crew was alerted, Mr Wojciechowski live-tweeted the panicked announcements from the pilot, who threatened to divert the plane.
He wrote: "About an hour into the flight there’s an announcement: ‘If anyone has a Galaxy Note 7, please press your call button'."
He claimed the captain threatened to "turn on the lights and search everyone's bag until we find it."
"Apparently the plane is going to have to get diverted and searched if nobody fesses up soon," he added.
Related stories
The mischief-maker later confessed that there was no Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on board, but that they had just changed their SSID wireless device as a joke.
According to Mr Wojciechowski the crew announced: “Ladies and gentlemen, we found the device. Luckily only the name of the device was changed to 'Galaxy Note 7'. It was not a GN7."
Virgin Media have said the flight was not delayed by the incident and confirmed there was no Galaxy Note 7 on-board.