A phone that was sucked out of an Alaska Airlines plane where a door was ripped off mid-flight Friday night survived its free fall from more than 17,000 feet and was even found still functioning by a Washington state resident.
This is an ad Apple shouldn't have expected: The iPhone that fell from the plane was found on the side of the road, “still in airplane mode with 50% battery and open to a baggage complaint page,” explained Sean Bates on X, who reported this got my hands on the phone.
I found an iPhone on the side of the road… Still in airplane mode with half battery and open for baggage claim #AlaskaAirlines ASA1282 survived a 16,000-foot drop perfectly!
When I called it, Zoe was there @NTSB said it was the SECOND phone found. No door yet😅 pic.twitter.com/CObMikpuFd
– Seanathan Bates (@SeanSafyre) January 7, 2024
In a video on TikTok, Mr Bates explained that he came across the iPhone while out for a walk and initially thought it had been thrown off the side of the road.
“It was still completely clean, without a scratch, under a bush,” he emphasized. “I opened it and saw that it was in airplane mode, with a travel confirmation and baggage claim for Alaska Flight 1282.”
The man called the National Transportation Safety Board, a U.S. federal agency responsible for investigating the flight, which took off from Oregon International Airport.
According to an agent, this is the second phone found after leaving the plane. There were also headrests, a backrest, a table and even the door in question.
Since the accident, the Boeing 737 Max 9, as well as the plane that flew Friday evening, have been grounded until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is sure they are safe.
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