Passenger's Phone Ignites, Delaying Southwest Flight

As a Southwest Airlines plane was taxiing at El Paso International Airport Wednesday morning, preparing to depart for Houston, a passenger's cellphone apparently went up in flames. The plane returned to the gate, where everyone "disembarked normally" and eventually boarded a different plane and headed to Houston, an airline spokesperson tells CBS News. The flight crew quickly put out the fire, which apparently originated from the phone's battery, WFAA reports.

"Southwest is working with the appropriate federal and local investigative agencies," the airline says in a statement. "Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees." The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. (More Southwest Airlines stories.)