This is going to be buried but I'm going to post it anyway. I work in the airline industry and have been working in it for about 3 years. I don't see a lot of crazy stuff but not every day is the same. I've seen this GIF on Reddit a couple of times and ever since, I've been asking myself the same question about how TSA doesn't allow a bottle of water but would allow phones with this type of battery on board. Anyway, last week I'm working and we get an ACARS (a text message from the flight crew on the aircraft to our office) saying a passenger In business class has dropped their phone into the mechanically reclined seat and the crew can't seem to retrieve it. They ask for a mechanic on arrival to retrieve the phone. We call the maintenance department to advise them and without a hitch they ask me to message the crew back and tell them to disable the recline so it won't smash the phone to pieces and puncture the battery. The crew did not respond which wasn't weird being 30 minutes away from touching down. Fast forward to arrival, the mechanics went onboard to dismantle the seat and try to retrieve the phone but it wasn't in sight. We needed the passengers and crew off to be able to get the aircraft turned around for it's next mission. We asked everyone to disembark and we were able to get everyone onboard to start the turnaround procedure. 26 minutes after arrival the mechanic takes this out http://imgur.com/UESIaNh They asked me if I was able to tell them to disable the recline. Who knows if the battery would've been punctured but one thing is for sure, this could've been a lot worse. I do also want to say that if you're carrying and extra laptop battery or cell phone battery, to not put it in your checked luggage, Keep it in your carry-on. I know it's a stupid idea, but a fire in the cargo hold is invisible and more dangerous then one in the passenger cabin where everyone can see it and take the appropriate actions.