A 75-year-old woman’s death from a power bank explosion has triggered a federal reannouncement of a recall affecting nearly half a million devices, exposing a critical gap between initial safety warnings and the real-world dangers consumers continue to face.
Quick Take
- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reissued a recall for 429,000 Casely Power Banks after 28 new incidents, including one fatality and an onboard airplane fire, emerged following the initial recall in April 2025.
- A 75-year-old New Jersey woman died from second and third-degree burns after a Casely power bank exploded on her lap in August 2024 while charging her phone.
- A separate February incident saw a 47-year-old woman suffer first-degree burns when a Casely power bank caught fire and exploded during a commercial flight.
- Consumers must immediately stop using model E33A units and contact Casely for free replacements, with strict disposal instructions to prevent additional fires.
When a Charger Becomes a Weapon
The Casely Power Banks 5000mAh, sold online from March 2022 through September 2024 for $30 to $70, were designed for convenience. Instead, they became instruments of serious harm.
The initial April 2025 recall documented 51 incidents of overheating, swelling, and fires, causing six minor burn injuries. But the real disaster came later, when federal regulators discovered that the problem had worsened dramatically after the recall announcement itself.
Hundreds of thousands of power banks were recalled after one of the products reportedly exploded, killing a woman.https://t.co/rkf5z07645
— Mid-Michigan NOW (@midmichigannow) April 21, 2026
The August 2024 incident involving the 75-year-old woman from New Jersey represents the kind of tragedy that regulatory agencies fear most. She was simply charging her cellphone using the power bank on her lap—an ordinary act performed by millions daily.
The device exploded, engulfing her in flames that caused second and third-degree burns across her body. She later died from these injuries. The fact that this incident occurred before the initial recall but was reported afterward reveals a troubling lag in how consumer harm data reaches regulators.
The Aviation Nightmare
Aviation safety officials have long worried about lithium-ion battery fires at altitude, where emergency response options are severely limited. The February incident aboard a commercial flight proved those concerns justified.
A 47-year-old woman was charging her phone with a Casely power bank when it ignited, causing first-degree burns and creating a dangerous situation thousands of feet above ground.
The U.S. experienced 446 lithium battery incidents in commercial airspace between 2006 and 2023, with 24 occurring in 2023 alone.
What makes these Casely incidents particularly alarming is the mechanism of failure. Lithium-ion batteries can undergo thermal runaway, a chain reaction in which cells overheat to approximately 900 degrees Celsius, making fires extraordinarily difficult to extinguish.
In an airplane cabin, such a fire poses risks to crew members and passengers far beyond the immediate burn zone, including smoke inhalation and potential structural damage.
The Recall That Wasn’t Enough
The April 2025 recall should have stopped the bleeding. Federal regulators had identified the problem, Casely had agreed to provide free replacements, and consumers were warned. Yet between that initial recall and the recent reannouncement, 28 additional incidents occurred.
Identifying affected units requires checking for model number E33A printed on the back and “Casely” engraved on the front right side. The devices were sold exclusively through online channels: Casely’s website, Amazon, and other internet retailers.
This distribution method likely contributed to the difficulty in reaching all consumers, since online purchasers may not monitor recall notices as closely as those who buy from brick-and-mortar stores.
What Consumers Must Do Now
The CPSC’s directive is unambiguous: stop using these power banks immediately. Casely is offering free replacements to anyone who contacts the company, but consumers cannot simply throw the devices in the garbage.
The fire risk persists even in landfills, so the commission instructs owners to contact local household hazardous waste collection centers for proper disposal. This additional burden falls on consumers who purchased what they believed was a legitimate product from reputable retailers.
The reannouncement underscores a systemic issue in consumer product safety. Initial recalls often fail to achieve complete market removal, leaving dangerous products in circulation.
The fact that a fatality and an in-flight emergency were required to trigger a reannouncement raises questions about whether the threshold for regulatory urgency should be lower. For the 429,000 people still holding these devices, the answer came too late for one elderly woman and her family.
This recall serves as a reminder that convenience devices powered by lithium-ion batteries carry inherent risks that manufacturers must engineer against with absolute precision. When they fail, the consequences extend far beyond a simple refund or replacement.
Sources:
Recall reannounced for power banks after charger causes fire on plane, death to 75-year-old woman
Power bank recalled after fire on passenger plane injures four of the crew
