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Alaska Airlines flight: Missing door plug found
Flight and aviation expert Steve Giordano joins LiveNOW's Andrew Craft to talk about the missing door plug that was found from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. He also discusses United Airlines finding loose bolts on some Boeing 737 Max 9s.
LOS ANGELES - Last week, a man on social media claimed to have found an iPhone on the ground still "perfectly intact" after presumably falling 16,000 feet from an Alaska Airlines flight that suffered an inflight blowout.
READ MORE: Man finds iPhone 'perfectly intact' that likely fell 16,000 feet from Alaska Airlines flight
While federal investigators were pleased to have the phone, the rest of the internet had one question: How did it survive?
Now, after days of speculation, a company has come forward with the alleged identity of the case that protected the phone from destruction.
Alaska Airlines phone found
Washington resident Sean Bates tweeted on Jan 7, that he found an iPhone on the side of the road that was "still on airplane mode with half a battery and open to a baggage claim" for Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. He said the NTSB told him it was the second phone found to have survived being blown out of the plane.
On Jan. 12, Spigen, a phone case manufacturing company, tweeted a reply to Bates original tweet writing "MYSTERY SOLVED: IT WAS US."
According to Spigen, the case was their Cryo Armor case which retails for $65.
Spigen added a screenshot of the text sent by a friend of the owner of the phone as well as photos of the phone with the case on.
The company’s tweet quickly went viral, garnering 3.2 million views as of Jan. 15. Many were quick to reply with praise for the product and the circumstances.
RELATED: US intensifies oversight of Boeing, will begin production audits after latest mishap for planemaker
"As a life long satisfied Spigen user I’m happy to hear my phone is safe even if it falls out of a plane," wrote one user.
"The drop test of the decade," Spigen wrote.
Latest on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 investigation
On Jan. 5, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland after a plug covering an unused exit door blew off the Boeing 737 Max 9 as it cruised about three miles over Oregon.
While none of the 171 passengers or six crew were seriously injured, the rapid loss of cabin pressure caused oxygen masks to drop from the ceiling and caused a chaotic scene on board.
The explosive rush of air damaged several rows of seats and pulled insulation from the walls, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, who added in a Sunday media briefing that the door plug and two cell phones had been found by members of the community.
Boeing now increasing quality inspections
Boeing told employees Monday that it plans to increase quality inspections of its following the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 incident.
The emergency landing was the latest in a series of troubles for Boeing, whos reputation as the premier American aircraft manufacturer has been tarnished by a series of manufacturing flaws that have led some airlines to hold off aircraft purchases or go with its European rival, Airbus.
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NTSB: Alaska Airlines emergency an 'accident'
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating after an Alaska Airlines plane blew out a portion of its fuselage while in the air late Friday, forcing an emergency landing in Oregon. It was ruled an accident by the NTSB.
READ MORE: Boeing to increase quality inspections on 737-MAX following Alaska Airlines blow out
The inspections come after Federal regulators grounded the 737- 9 MAX, and that Boeing has said that after the Alaska Airlines flight and customer complaints, it is "clear that we are not where we need to be" on quality assurance and controls.
"Our team is also taking a hard look at our quality practices in our factories and across our production system," said Stan Deal, the president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in an email to employees.
The incident on the Alaska plane is the latest in a string of mishaps for Boeing that began in 2018, with the first of two crashes of MAX 8 planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia — and more than four months apart — that killed a total of 346 people.
This story was reported from Los Angeles. Kelly Hayes contributed.