Science: How 2 iPhones Survived The Fall Off Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 After Boeing 737 MAX 9 Door Plug Blowout

Two iPhones fell from Alaska Airlines flight 1282 and were later recovered. In early January 2024, the flight was forced to make an emergency landing due to a door plug blowout on the Boeing 737 MAX 9. Remarkably, both devices survived a 16,000-foot drop and were found to be in working condition and intact.

Surviving the fall

Since the incident, The Wall Street Journal reporters have investigated how two iPhones survived the fall. They lifted a drone over New Jersey’s Sussex County Fairground and conducted experiments, dropping iPhone 14 and Samsung Galaxy S23 devices from heights of 3, 30, and 300 feet onto both grass and asphalt.

The test revealed that both phones survived the fall onto the grass from all tested altitudes. The reporters also explained that dropping phones from even higher altitudes, such as 16,000 feet (as in the incident), was unnecessary. Mark Rober, a former NASA mechanical engineer, explained to the WSJ that whether you drop a phone from 300 feet or from space, the result will be the same due to a phenomenon known as terminal velocity.

Terminal velocity is the maximum speed attainable by an object as it falls through a fluid (air is the most common example). An associate professor of physics at Southeastern Louisiana University told the WSJ that 300 feet is enough height for all of these devices, with and without cases, to reach their maximum speeds.

The reporters repeated the test on asphalt. The iPhone and Galaxy S23 survived two drops each from 3 feet with minimal damage. From 30 feet, the iPhone’s back glass shattered upon impact with the asphalt, while the Samsung remained intact but bent.

After the 300-foot drop, the iPhone’s back glass and the glass around the camera shattered, but the phone was intact and working. Meanwhile, the Samsung landed on its bottom right corner, causing the rubber case to tear. Although the Samsung’s screen remained intact, the phone bent and no longer turned on.

A conclusion was reached that a good phone case always helps to protect your phone as it provides more cushioning. Additionally, both phones that fell from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 landed on the grass. Grass offers more cushioning and is softer than asphalt, which helps explain why the two phones survived the 16,000-foot drop.

Recapping the incident

The incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, in which a door plug detached from the aircraft mid-flight, emerged as one of the most significant aviation events in 2024, sparking more concern over the safety of the 737 MAX family of jets.

On January 5, 2024, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 departed Portland International Airport (PDX) with 171 passengers and six crew onboard. Two minutes into the flight, the aircraft ascended 5,000 feet but experienced a left door plug blowout at 16,000 feet and 440 mph six minutes later. The pilots requested an emergency landing, and the aircraft safely touched down on runway 28L, with only minor injuries reported.

After the incident, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the temporary grounding of all Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft across the US for safety inspections, and numerous investigations commenced.

Soon after the Alaska Airlines 737 MAX incident, the FAA started auditing the 737 MAX 9’s production line and suppliers. More than a month later, the FAA concluded that there were serious flaws in the manufacturer’s safety culture. In late February 2024, the Department of Justice (DoJ) opened a criminal investigation into the Boeing 737 MAX 9 blowout case.

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