An iPhone fell 4876.8m (roughly 16,000ft) and survived unscathed.
The iPhone was sucked out of the Alaska Airlines flight 1282 Boeing 737 Max 9’s cabin after a fuselage panel triggered a sudden decompression. While it’s still unconfirmed, the smartphone looks like an iPhone 14 or iPhone 15 series device (it features the ‘Dynamic Island’) and is in a case with a glass screen protector on it.
The iPhone was uncovered by game designer Sean Bates (via The Verge). Bates says the phone was undamaged, still on and even had a cut-off charging cable still plugged into it. Among the several images Bates posted to social media, one shows the smartphone’s screen open with an Alaska Airlines flight 1282 baggage receipt (see below). The device was unlocked and still in airplane mode.
Found an iPhone on the side of the road… Still in airplane mode with half a battery and open to a baggage claim for #AlaskaAirlines ASA1282 Survived a 16,000 foot drop perfectly in tact!
When I called it in, Zoe at @NTSB said it was the SECOND phone to be found. No door yet😅 pic.twitter.com/CObMikpuFd
— Seanathan Bates (@SeanSafyre) January 7, 2024
Bates recounted how he uncovered the iPhone in a recent TikTok video.
@seansafyre quick story of how I found a phone that dropped 16,000 feet 😅 definitely belonged to a passenger on #alaskaairlines #asa1282 ♬ original sound – Sean Bates
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently confirmed that two smartphones were thrown from the aircraft. One was found on the side of the road, and the other was uncovered in a yard. The NTSB says that the devices will be returned to their owners.
Flight 1282 returned to Portland’s airport after the panel broke loose. None of the aircraft’s 172 passengers were seriously injured.
Image credit: @SeanSafyre
Source: @SeanSafyre Via: The Verge
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