Iceland Photo Tours pilot and photographer Haukur Snorrason has shared a video showing the descent of his iPhone 6S Plus as it fell from a small plane located about 60m (200ft) over Iceland. The incident happened more than a year ago; given the height and frozen tundra beneath, Snorrason had assumed at the time that his tiny iPhone hadn’t survived the fall.
Around 13 months after the phone was dropped, a group of hikers discovered the device in a patch of moss, which had cushioned the blow and enabled the phone to survive the drop. The device powered on when tested, revealing Snorrason’s name and making it possible to reunite him with his lost device.
In addition to being nearly entirely functional (only the microphone was damaged), Snorrason discovered that the iPhone had recorded and saved a video of its rapid descent from the plane. The device landed face down on the moss, protecting the display from the elements while leaving the camera exposed to record the bright blue sky and Sun until its battery died.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)