The FAA ban wouldn’t apply to lithium-ion batteries that are packed inside equipment, or presumably attached to a video camera. Cellphones with lithium batteries inside them would still be allowed onboard. It is also assumed, as of now, that the FAA will continue to allow video crews to carry a couple of extra lithium-ion cells in carry-on luggage.

The risk of fire or explosion is prompting the FAA’s proposed ban on rechargeable lithium ion battery shipments as cargo on passenger airlines. This is also why the agency has warned flyers not to pack spare batteries in their checked baggage.

“We believe the risk is immediate and urgent,” said Angela Stubblefield, an FAA hazardous materials official at a public meeting in early October. Airlines flying to and from the U.S. that accept lithium battery shipments carry 26 million passengers a year, she said.

Stubblefield said the agency’s research demonstrates that even a small number of overheating batteries can emit gases that can trigger explosions and fires capable of destroying an airliner.

"Spare (uninstalled) lithium ion and lithium metal batteries must be carried in carry-on baggage only,” the FAA said. “When a carry-on bag is checked at the gate or at planeside, all spare lithium batteries must be removed from the bag and kept with the passenger in the aircraft cabin. The battery terminals must be protected from short circuit."

Lithium-ion batteries are sold by the billions. Professional video batteries comprise only a tiny fraction of the units sold. Lithium ion cells are used to power consumer electronics ranging from cellphones and laptops to electric toothbrushes. Many are made to differing safety and quality standards. So the risks of the cheapest made battery affects the best designed cells. Thousands of batteries can be shipped on a single airliner at once as freight.

A panel of the United Nations, the International Civil Aviation Organization, is scheduled to address the safety of battery shipments at a meeting in Montreal later in October. The ICAO issues global aviation safety standards, though individual countries decide whether or not to adopt them. The U.S. has more influence at ICAO than any other country, so its position on the issue is important.

Also, the IFALPA, the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations, has backed a ban until better design of battery packaging can reduce the risk of fire or explosions. Early in 2015, several aircraft manufacturers including Boeing and Airbus called the shipments of lithium ion batteries an “unacceptable risk.”

More than a dozen airlines have already stopped accepting any battery shipments, or large quantities of batteries shipped together. But accidents continue to occur.

In early October, an Alaska Air flight from Newark to Seattle made an unscheduled stop in Buffalo, New York, after cabin crew had to take a fire extinguisher to a flight attendant’s smoking credit card machine. The cause was a “melting” lithium ion battery in the unit, according to an airline spokeswoman.

The ban wouldn’t apply to cargo airlines or to other battery chemistries. It also wouldn’t apply to lithium-ion batteries that are packed inside equipment. The FAA has said previously that batteries inside a device lessens the risk that a short-circuiting battery will affect other batteries.

Representatives from the rechargeable battery and cargo airline industries spoke against a ban at the meeting. A passenger airline ban would mean some places around the world won’t be able to receive battery shipments, industry officials said.

George Kerchner, executive director of the Rechargeable Battery Association, said some airlines have determined they can safely transport lithium ion batteries. He suggested the FAA should leave the question of whether to transport lithium batteries up to the individual airlines.

Video battery vendors have put a lot of R&D into designing safe lithium ion batteries. For example, Anton/Bauer, a major manufacturer of lithium batteries for video crews, has done a major redesign of its batteries for safety.

“Our lithium ion batteries feature a ‘double skinned’ architecture where the cells are individually contained in an impact-resistant, flame-retardant plastic honeycomb, with a one millimeter air gap between them, ensuring no cells can touch and allowing air to circulate to keep the pack cool,” said Graham Sharp, senior vice president, product management and engineering at Vitec Videocom, which owns Anton/Bauer in Shelton, Connecticut.

“This entire cell pack is ‘suspended’ within the impact-resistant outer case, maintaining a five millimeter air gap around it and providing a ‘crumple’ zone to prevent crushing and accidental penetration of the cells themselves by a sharp object.”

From an electrical viewpoint, he said Anton/Bauer’s Digital Batteries are extremely safe. “Thermal sensors continually monitor the battery, and if a rise in temperature is detected, a switch is opened to prevent further charge or discharge,” Sharp said. “Similarly the charge and discharge currents are continually monitored, and if too much current is flowing, the battery switches off.”

Anton/Bauer does not expect the government activity to affect video production crews, but it — through an organization that represents battery manufacturers — will be present at the upcoming proceedings to attempt to protect the interests of video crews.