When you think about cycling injuries, cuts, scrapes, bruises — maybe even the odd sprain or fracture might come to mind. A severe burn requiring grafts probably isn’t on the list.
That’s exactly what happened to 36-year old Australian Gareth Clear when he was out biking recently. Clear was enjoying a ride on the extensive network of paths at Manly Dam. It’s a gorgeous place to go for a ride — here’s a short clip so you can see for yourself:
Clear’s recent ride wasn’t quite as enjoyable, however. It was cut short when the iPhone 6 he’d been using for the past six months suddenly started to burn right in his pocket.
This particular incident doesn’t appear to have been caused by a shoddy third-party charger or cable, at least not directly. Clear’s comments about the incident seem to indicate that he fell on top of it, and presumably onto something hard that managed to penetrate the iPhone’s aluminum back cover and puncture the internal battery.
“The phone did hit the ground, it didn’t spontaneously combust,” Clear said. Once the battery was damaged, the reaction quickly set his phone ablaze. It burned through his shorts and two layers of skin. Doctors at the Royal North Shore Hospital patched him back up, but Clear will spend the next week recovering at home. He’ll be tethered to an antibiotic drip to help ensure the burn doesn’t become infected.
Apple has contacted Clear and said they’re going to investigate the incident. There could have been other contributing factors besides the damage sustained — and if there were faulty components inside Apple definitely wants to know about them.
