In what can only be described as a remarkable feat of engineering and pure luck, an iPhone survived an astonishing fall of over 16,000 feet after being sucked out of an airplane.
The incident occurred during a flight aboard a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet operated by Sierra Pacific Airlines. At some point during the journey, a passenger’s iPhone was torn from the cabin due to sudden depressurization and got sucked out of the aircraft.
Phone Found Intact on the Ground
Days later, a man named Seanathan Bates discovered the phone while walking around the area where the plane had flown over. Amazingly, the device was “perfectly intact” according to Bates. The phone screen even displayed a baggage receipt from the flight, indicating it was still functional after the life-threatening plunge.
Only the charging cable attached to the phone had been sheared off from the fall. Besides that, the iPhone was unbelievably unscathed.
An Extremely Rare Occurrence
It’s nothing short of a miracle that the iPhone survived such an extreme fall. Smartphones are in no way designed to withstand these types of extreme forces and conditions.
Standard drop tests conducted by organizations like Consumer Reports involve dropping phones from normal heights like 6 feet. Even drops from pocket or hand level can damage phones depending on factors like the surface they land on.
For an iPhone to survive a fall from an airplane at over 16,000 feet is an exceptionally rare event. It was likely aided by the phone achieving some aerodynamic lift and spin that slowed the velocity before impact. The precise way it landed also probably helped minimize damage. Still, the fact that it remained intact is highly unusual.
Ongoing Investigation into Cause
Aviation authorities including the FAA are investigating Sierra Pacific Airlines to determine what led to the phone getting sucked out of the airplane in the first place. The occurrence was traced back to a depressurization event, but the exact causes are still being examined.
While the intact iPhone provides some clues, the focus is on ensuring no crippling aircraft failures occur again that could put more passengers and crew in danger.
The extraordinary durability displayed by the iPhone in this freak incident is not indicative of the general resilience of smartphones. Always use protective cases and be careful not to drop your phone to prevent damage in normal day-to-day conditions.