Alaska Airlines emergency: iPhone survives 16,000-ft fall after plane's door blows out mid-air
iPhone survives 16,000-foot drop from Alaska Airlines plane
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX faced a mid-air emergency on January 6, minutes after take-off from Portland International Airport. The incident led to an emergency landing in Oregon, raising concerns about the safety of the aircraft.
US aviation authorities investigating the emergencydiscovered that one of the airplane's doors blew open mid-air. The investigation is now focused on the door plug of the airplane panel that could provide crucial insights into the cause of the incident.
During the emergency, a passerby, Seanathan Bates, found an iPhone on the ground near Barnes Road.
Surprisingly, the device was still in airplane mode, with in-flight activation turned on. The iPhone appeared undamaged, even after surviving a 16,000-foot fall.
Bates shared his discovery on social media platform X, which soon went viral.
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While the iPhone model remains officially unconfirmed, speculation suggests it could be either an iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro. Users marveled at the device's resilience, surviving a significant fall unscathed.
Seanathan Bates's post gained massive traction on social media, accumulating 6.6 million views and 41,000 likes. Users expressed amazement, with some predicting that Apple might use this incident for marketing purposes, turning it into a unique advertisement.
Later, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed to The Guardianthat it has recovered the working iPhone and it “likely” fell from flight.
“That was one of the phones collected that is likely from the flight,” an NTSB spokesperson said, according to the British newspaper. “It has since been turned over to Alaska Airlines.”
Aircraft groundings and FAA inspection mandate
Following the Alaska Airlines incident, safety concerns prompted airlines and aviation authorities worldwide to ground certain versions of Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandated immediate inspections of these planes before they could resume flight operations, causing disruptions and cancellations.
Also watch |Alaska Airlines flight makes emergency landing after window blowout mid-flight
Despite the alarming mid-air emergency and the grounding of some aircraft, Alaska Flight 1282 successfully returned to Portland with no major injuries reported. The investigation continues, focusing on both the aircraft's door blowout and the miraculous survival of an iPhone amidst the chaos.
(With inputs from agencies)