Skip to main content

Businessman’s iPhone somehow still works, even after being dropped from a plane

Given the fragility of phones nowadays relative to the phones of yesteryear, it’s no wonder that dropping a smartphone will make some people squeamish. This is probably what Texas businessman Ben Wilson felt like, only magnified, when his iPhone fell out of a plane and plummeted to earth during a flight from Houston, reports The Wichita Falls Times Record News.

According to the report, Wilson, owner of Gas Corp. of America, and pilot Will Warnock were flying a Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft earlier this week when the passenger door opened slightly due to a pressure change. Wilson’s phone fell through that opening without him even realizing it until the pair landed. The phone dropped 9,300 feet.

Recommended Videos

“The pressure popped and a newspaper flew out but I didn’t see the phone go,” said Wilson. “After we got back I looked for it on the floor [of the plane] and in my briefcase but couldn’t find it.”


OtterBox.com: 250x250 Free Shipping
The story doesn’t end there, though. Gas Corp. vice president of sales John Kidwell said Wilson used his Find My iPhone in order to track down the lost phone. Eventually, the app told Wilson that the phone was outside a rural town in Jack County, Texas.

With the location and map in hand, it was time for a road trip as Wilson and Kidwell took off to find the iPhone this past Tuesday. And to throw in some local color, the pair reported being followed by a donkey as they searched a pasture and, impressively enough, found the iPhone in great condition.

According to Wilson, the iPhone was in a Mophie battery case, which most likely prevented the handset from receiving significant damage. “It was in one piece, scratched a bit on the corners but it still worked,” said Wilson.”

Because the case took the majority of the impact, however, the battery of the Mophie case was missing.

Unfortunately, not every such story has a happy ending. 18-year-old Jeremy Cook was killed after confronting three people he suspected stole his smartphone. So we would highly advise caution if retrieving your phone might involve confronting anything more menacing than a donkey.

Williams Pelegrin
Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…
Will my iPhone get iOS 26? Here’s every supported model
We've got the full list of iOS 26 supported devices - find out if you're getting the new iPhone update
iOS 26 features on a series of iPhone screens

Apple announced iOS 26 at WWDC 2025, and the new iPhone update comes with a fresh new 'Liquid Glass' look and plenty of features - and there are loads of iOS 26 supported devices, which is great news.

And no, you haven't missed a volley of updates since iOS 18 in 2024. Apple has skipped a bunch of numbers, so instead of giving us iOS 19 in 2025, we got iOS 26 alongside iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26 and tvOS 26. In short, Apple's brought its operating system numbering into line. Nice.

Read more
iPhone 17 price looks more certain to rise for first time since the iPhone 12
Apple might be preparing its first iPhone price increase in five years
iPhone 16 Pro Max next to the 16 Plus, 16 Pro and regular iPhone 16

For years now, Apple has launched the base model iPhone at $799 - but in 2025, more and more signs are pointing towards prices being increased for the introduction of the iPhone 17.

The likelihood of an iPhone 17 price increase was raised by the Wall Street Journal in May, and now Counterpoint Research notes in its recent 2025 shipment forecast that "cost increases are expected to be passed on to consumers" by not only Apple, but Samsung as well.

Read more
Why you shouldn’t care what number Apple puts on your iPhone’s software
The Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max's screen.

One number may change to another number at an important industry event on June 9, and despite some of the headlines that have been circulating around the news, this succinct explanation of what may happen allows you to guage its real importance. Apparently, Apple may use the WWDC 2025 keynote presentation to announce a change from the expected iOS 19 software’s name to iOS 26, and here’s why you shouldn’t worry about it. 

Many people won’t even know

Read more