Story ID: 501NBAA
Aircraft Specialties Selected as Hot-Stop Stocking Dealer
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: Hot Stop kits are recommended for carriage on board aircraft for containment of lithium-ion battery fires.
Word Count: 414
Baker Aviation (Booth 1512), master distributor for Hot-Stop L fire-containment kits, has selected Aircraft Specialties to distribute Hot Stop bags for the U.S. market. Aircraft Specialties (Booth 1187) is now the sole U.S. domestic stocking distributor for Hot Stop products, according to Baker.

Earlier this year, Baker Aviation announced that Hot Stop products, manufactured by Industrial Energy Products, passed burn tests at Aeroblaze Laboratory, which is accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 and Nadcap NMMT international quality standards. The testing qualified and burn certified the Hot Stop bag, bag cover, and gloves. In the burn-through test, the bag was subjected to a 2,000-degrees-F flame for 15 minutes. According to Baker, this test “goes above and beyond the burn characteristics of today’s typical Li-ion devices.”

The bag is made of multiple fabric layers surrounding a felt inner core. The core “has a 3,200-degree-F melting point [and] is sandwiched between two outer layers that have a 2,080-degree-F melting point and are proven to absorb energy and fire while eliminating the escape of toxic smoke, sparks, and flames,” the company explained. There is no need to use water to try to put out a lithium-ion battery fire when using a Hot Stop kit. An airtight zipper on the bag prevents any smoke from escaping.

Hot Stop L bags are available in various sizes, with the largest measuring 27 by 26 inches and capable of holding a defibrillator or large portable computer. The smallest—9.5 by 6 inches—is designed to contain a phone-size device. Baker Aviation will replace for free any bag used to contain a runaway lithium-ion-powered device.

Baker Aviation recommends that aircraft operators equip their aircraft with Hot Stop kits for containment of lithium-ion battery fires, given the possibility of battery thermal runaway and the many types of lithium-ion batteries that passengers bring aboard in portable devices and also lithium-ion battery-powered onboard equipment such as defibrillators.

“As the threat is recognized more every day aboard business jets and airlines around the world, the demand for containment of such unexpected eruptions will continue to grow,” said Ray Goyco, president and CEO at Baker Aviation Maintenance.

“All corporate operators should consider having this valuable safety item on board their aircraft,” said Gene Portela, Aircraft Specialties director of sales, “as there is a better chance you will use this product before you ever use the life raft you keep on board, and never think twice.”

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