How many of us have cracked our phone screens from merely the slightest drop? It’s a frustrating experience to be sure. But one iPhone fell and hit the ground from a staggering 16,000-foot drop from an airplane, and the screen didn’t even crack. The phone was from Alaska Airlines flight 1282, which had to make an emergency landing on Friday, January 5 when taking off from Portland, Oregon. For still unknown reasons, a door plug detached, resulting in various items sucked out of the plane. Among them were two phones. Someone who just happened upon while taking a walk in Portland discovered one phone, and then posted the images to social media.
Sean Bates, the person who found the resilient phone, said, “Found an iPhone on the side of the road… Still in airplane mode with half a battery and open to a baggage claim for Alaska Airlines ASA1282. Survived a 16,000-foot drop perfectly intact!” So just how does an iPhone make it to the ground with barely a scratch on it? According to The Verge, this phone could stay intact thanks to it reaching maximum speed before hitting the surface. The ground it crashed into was able to disperse most of the impact. Physics, everyone!
No word yet on whether the original owner has their phone back already. We’d put that phone on display if it ever came back into our hands, that’s for sure. It’s like a tiny piece of history. So what about the other phone that fell out of the plane? We know someone found it, but so far, that’s all we know. Meanwhile, they discovered the plug door in someone’s yard. In the end, we’re just glad that no one, both in the plane and on the ground, wound up hurt.
