Delta says spare battery caused smoke on Atlanta-bound flight

A spare battery overheated and created smoke in the cabin of a Delta Air Lines flight Friday. The plane, a Boeing MD-88, continued to its destination without further problems. Flight 2557 from Norfolk, Virginia, to Atlanta, carrying 143 passengers and 5 crew members, had just taken off when flight attendants noticed the smoke in the rear section of the aircraft, Delta said. There were no reports of flames, said a spokesman for the airline, and flight attendants “acted quickly to immediately dissipate the smoke.” Delta was trying to determine the source and type of the battery, which wasn’t affixed to a device, he said. The device’s and battery’s manufacturers haven’t been determined and nobody was injured, he said. One newspaper said the battery was for a mobile phone, in a report that cited eyewitnesses. <br/>