This iPhone Fell 9K Feet From Plane, Still Works

In what might be the most incredible iPhone testimonial ever, a Texas man has revealed that his iPhone still works—an iPhone that happened to fall out of an airplane and tumble 9,300 feet into a pasture. Ben Wilson, 74, explains that he was en route from Houston to Kickapoo Airport midday Monday when a pressure change affected a door latch on the Beechcraft Bonanza plane. He saw his Wall Street Journal fly out the gap; when they landed, he realized his phone was MIA. The Find My iPhone app revealed it was alive and well some 90 miles away outside of Joplin, and Wilson—owner of Gas Corp. of America—and his VP of sales (who is also his stepson) set off from Wichita Falls to retrieve it on Tuesday.

Their journey took them down a ranch road, over a fence, past a friendly donkey, and to a mesquite tree, reports the Times Record News. Beneath that tree was the phone, "in one piece, scratched a bit on the corners but it still worked," says Wilson. He tells NBC News the screen wasn't shattered, and only one element was missing: a protective case that contained an external battery. Wilson says he confirmed the distance his iPhone fell thanks to another bit of technology: the flight-tracking site FlightAware, which provided his altitude. (Another odd iPhone-related story: A man was arrested earlier this month for charging his iPhone on a London train.)