It may not be another Nokia 3310, but this iPhone survived 16,000-feet fall from an airplane

As you might have heard already, last Friday turned into another nightmare for Boeing, as its 737 MAX 9 – Alaska Airlines flight 1282 carrying 171 passengers – had to make an emergency landing because of a lost door plug.

It turned out that the door plug wasn’t the only thing sucked out of the plane. The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed it had recovered two cell phones from the said flight, Business Insider reports.

One of the phones was an Apple iPhone found by a random passerby, game designer Seanathan Bates, who shared the story on X (Twitter). The smartphone was lying in the grass next to Barnes Road in Portland, Oregon.

Bates claims the iPhone, which survived a 16,000-feet free fall, was without scratches or any visible damage. It was protected by a case and a screen protector.

When found, the phone was still in an Airplane mode. “I naturally have to assume that Airplane mode helped it survive the fall,” joked Bates on X.

The exact model of the iPhone that survived the ultimate drop test is unknown, as is the story of the second discovered device.

Alaska Airlines flight 1282 was carrying passengers from Oregon to California when it lost a mid-cabin door plug. It returned to the Portland airport and landed safely approximately 35 minutes after takeoff.

Interestingly, the two phones were discovered sooner than the actual door plug itself. The giant missing piece of an airplane was later found in the backyard of an Oregon school teacher.

Meanwhile, the Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes were grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) until the agency finishes enhanced inspections which include both left and right cabin door exit plugs, door components, and fasteners.

“The FAA’s first priority is keeping the flying public safe. We have grounded the affected airplanes, and they will remain grounded until the FAA is satisfied that they are safe,” said the FAA in a Sunday statement.