On January 5, 2024, part of a cabin wall came loose from a Boeing 737 on a domestic flight in the United States, tearing a gaping hole in the aircraft’s exterior.
Some items were sucked out of the plane. An iPhone was among the items recovered. The Apple smartphone was actually intact.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 & the fallen iPhone
Last Friday, after a Boeing 737 MAX 9 took off, part of the pressurized cabin detached from the aircraft for unknown reasons.
have passengers according to the Tagesschau reported that part of the cabin wall and window were torn out. There was a big bang and then air flowed into the hole. Some passengers filmed the event. You can see the video here:
Link to YouTube content
Apparently several objects were thrown from the aircraft. Among them was apparently an iPhone, which has now been found, as the discoverer announced on Twitter. According to him, the iPhone didn’t even get a scratch.
Link to Twitter content
How far did the iPhone fall? The plane was at an altitude of around 16,000 feet at the time of the accident, according to The Oregonian. This corresponds to around 5 kilometers.
Fun fact: According to a report by MacTechNews For example, the iPhone 13 can usually survive a fall from a height of one meter unscathed. From 1.80 meters onwards there should be damage. But there seem to be exceptions.
How did the iPhone survive the fall? SeanSafyre allegedly found the phone on muddy ground next to a hedge. He assumes that the hedge and mud prevented the iPhone from breaking.
How did the user know that the iPhone belonged to a passenger on Flight 1282? The explorer has been more or less actively searching for clues to the accident after US authorities called for people to keep an eye out for remains.
When he picked up the iPhone, he is said to have noticed that the screen lock was not set. He then found the digital airline tickets for flight 1282.
It was therefore clear to him that the iPhone must have fallen from the plane and that it actually survived a fall of almost five kilometers.
By the way: Some users asked SeanSafyre what brand the phone case on the iPhone that fell was. He said he didn’t think to check it.
How would you have reacted if part of your plane fell off and you were sitting five kilometers up in the raging wind? Would your iPhone have fallen out of your hand too? In other words: Do you think that the smartphone of your choice would have survived a fall from the sky down to the ground with similar robustness? Feel free to write us your personal assessment in the comments below!
