James Cross
Modern technology is a miracle, though there will always be things that we can complain about. Cell phones in particular can be finicky creatures, sometimes surviving bricks being dropped on them and sometimes shattering at the wrong look. A recent story of a cell phone has made headlines, though, and for a surprising reason.
A Remnant of Flight 1282
A man on social media claimed that he found a fully intact iPhone in his backyard that he believed was a casualty from the recent Alaska Airlines flight that had to make an emergency landing in Oregon.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 has made headlines in the last week for its rather terrifying flight. Shortly after takeoff, a window and a chunk of fuselage suddenly blew off the plane, compromising the safety of the flight path for both the passengers and crew.
A Twitter User Found a Phone
The flight has taken the media by storm, but one user shared a tiny part of the story on X, formerly known as Twitter. He claimed that he found a fully-intact iPhone in his backyard, which was still in airplane mode with half a battery.
The man, named Sean Bates, revealed that the phone was opened to baggage claim for the Alaska Airlines flight, 1282, which had been making headlines for its sudden departure from flight path.
Reporting to the NTSB
He then went on to state that he called the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) to let them know of his discovery. He was stunned and delighted when they informed him that the phone he had found was the second one that had been reported over the incident.
The NTSB is an independent agency that investigates civil transportation accidents. Among their jurisdiction are aviation accidents (like the incident on 1282), some traffic accidents, pipeline accidents, and ship and marine accidents.
The Twitterverse Was Skeptical
The first post from Sean gathered the Twitter userbase, who were stunned at his discovery. In the case of high-profile incidents like the Alaska Airlines flight, there are always some players who try to make a name for themselves out of the tragedy.
Sean understood the skepticism of his audience. In a separate post on Tiktok, he explained how he found the phone under a bush, and at first wasn’t sure what to do with it. The phone didn’t have a lock on the screen, and when he opened the device to find out if he could find out who the owner was, he discovered that the phone was in airplane mode and still on the Alaska Airlines baggage claims page.
Sean Was Skeptical, Too
Still, Sean was skeptical himself. In his video, he explained that the phone was clean and didn’t have any scratches or anything on it. This helped disprove his first theory, which was that the phone had maybe been dropped by a jogger or accidentally thrown out of a car window.
When he saw the Alaska Airlines baggage claim, though, he put two and two together and realized that the phone was a casualty of the doomed flight that had been making headlines. The photo that he posted on Twitter revealed the phone with the broken-off charging cord still plugged into the charging port, and he assumed that the phone had been sucked out the window on the flight.
The NTSB Took The Phone
Sean called the NTSB, who were more than happy to take the phone. Sean assured his audience that the phone would be investigated, and hopefully returned to its rightful owner by the agency.
The phone and the flight landing are not the only parts of the story that have baffled onlookers, though. Many people have wondered exactly how it was that the flight door was torn off of the plane. A teacher in Portland found the flight plug that was meant to keep the door in place in her backyard, but that is far from the end of the investigation.
The FAA Steps In
The FAA, the Federal Aviation Agency, has stepped in with a formal investigation into Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes. Many of these planes are owned by Alaska Airlines and United, and an investigation of other grounded planes revealed more loose bolts in the plans that raised safety concerns.
The FFA investigation is into the manufacturing standards and safety regulations regarding this particular model of Boeing plane. The fact that other planes were found with similar safety discrepancies as flight 1282 is a major concern, though that particular situation ended with only minor injuries to everyone involved.
Lawmakers Raising Concerns as Well
The investigation into the Boeing family of airplanes has raised concerns not only from the FAA and other plane manufacturers, but also lawmakers. Representatives who have spoken on the matter have raised concerns about Boeing’s manufacturing capabilities, calling into question their dedication to safety.
The FAA seems to agree. In a statement, they announced that the investigation is not only into the manufacturing process but also the ultimate safety checks that are performed before planes are licensed for flight. “Boeing…need[s] to comply with the high safety standards they are legally obligated to meet,” the statement read.
The Investigation Continues
While the investigation is ongoing into Boeing and Alaska Airlines, the discovery of an intact phone from the flight is a small bright moment. Sean gave the internet a smile with his posts on Twitter and Tiktok, and the NTSB will ensure that the phones will be returned to their proper owners.
Hopefully the Alaska Airlines incident is a mere fluke of manufacturing and not a symptom of a systemic problem, but only time will tell. For now, nobody was killed, and two phones are slowly but surely on their way back to owners, who will be missing them.
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