On January 6, only minutes after taking off from Portland International Airport, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX experienced a mid-air emergency. The event resulted in an emergency landing in Oregon, raising concerns about the aircraft’s safety. In an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 emergency, an iPhone defies gravity, emerging unscathed from a 16,000-ft plunge as the plane’s door vanishes mid-air.
One of the plane’s doors ripped out mid-flight, according to US aviation authorities probing the incident. The investigation is now focusing on a door plug from an airplane panel, which could reveal critical information about the cause of the tragedy.
During the situation, Seanathan Bates, a bystander, discovered an iPhone near Barnes Road. Surprisingly, the smartphone remained in airplane mode, with in-flight activation enabled. Even after surviving a 16,000-foot fall, the iPhone looked to be intact. Bates posted his discovery on the social media network X, where it quickly went viral.
While the iPhone model has yet to be officially verified, speculation is that it could be an iPhone 14 Pro or an iPhone 15 Pro. Users praised the device’s toughness for surviving a heavy fall undamaged.
Seanathan Bates’ tweet went viral on social media, garnering 6.6 million views and 41,000 likes. Users were taken aback, with some speculating that Apple would exploit the occurrence for commercial purposes, turning it into a one-of-a-kind advertisement.
Groundings of aircraft and FAA inspection requirements
Following the Alaska Airlines incident, airlines and aviation authorities around the world grounded some Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets due to safety concerns.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) required these planes to undergo expedited inspections before they could resume flight operations, causing delays and cancellations.
Despite an unsettling mid-air emergency and the grounding of several aircraft, Alaska Flight 1282 returned to Portland safely and without severe injuries. The investigation is still ongoing, with the focus on both the aircraft’s door explosion and the extraordinary survival of an iPhone amid the turmoil.