A replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has caught fire on a Southwest Airlines plane in Louisville causing the flight to be evacuated before taking off.

The Verge spoke with the owner of the phone and confirmed that it was a replacement Galaxy Note 7.

He had acquired the phone on September 21st, which bore a black square on the box and green battery icon to indicate that it was "safe".

No smoking

After powering down his phone for the flight, the owner noticed it was smoking and dropped it on the floor. After evacuating, a colleague returned to collect his items, and noticed the phone had burned through the carpet.

Running the phone through Samsung's recall eligibility checker has confirmed that the phone was a replacement model, and supposedly unaffected by battery issues.

Not the first time

In a statement, Samsung said, "Until we are able to retrieve the device, we cannot confirm that this incident involves the new Note 7".

"We are working with the authorities and Southwest now to recover the device and confirm the cause. Once we have examined the device we will have more information to share."

Replacement devices have also been reported to be overheating in South Korea. Customers in China have reported that their devices have been exploding despite being considered safe enough to not require a recall.