Chilean airplane crash located via Apple's Find My iPhone

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple's Find My iPhone feature led searchers to find a Chilean Air Force airplane that crashed and is believed to have killed 21 people.



Search and rescue teams were unable to find the airplane, which prompted one of the victims' relatives to try locating them with the Find My iPhone functionality, which uses an iPhone's GPS receiver to track the device's location. According to infobae.com (via Gizmodo), the relative shared the location data with military officials in charge of the search operation.



"One of the passengers carried (an iPhone). When it fell into the sea, it was located and one of the relatives sent us hat information," the military official reportedly said.



Unfortunately the remains of the CASA 212 vehicle were found with no survivors. Parts from the destroyed plane were found floating in the sea near Tierra Banca and Playa Larga.



The plane was said to have been severely damaged by the crash, with no pieces larger than 20 inches recovered from the crash site thus far. It is unknown how the iPhone managed to broadcast the location of the crash site following the crash.



Poor weather conditions are said to be hampering officials' efforts to recover the victims' bodies from the sea floor. Four have been discovered thus far.



Crews search for the remains of a crashed Chilean Air Force plane. Photo credit: The Associated Press.



In July, a skydiver dropped his iPhone 4 from his pocket while in freefall. Though the device was damaged, it managed to survive the fall in working order, and the skydiver was able to recover the handset by tracking it via GPS.



"It goes to show you if I crash land and need an ambulance, they can still track me down with the GPS," Jarrod McKinney said after the incident.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 91
    Stewardess: TURN OFF YOUR EFF'N PHONE SIR!!!



    Passenger: Wait Wait, I have one more green pig!
  • Reply 2 of 91
    GPS doesn't work in Airplane Mode, right? So why did this passenger have their iPhone's GPS enabled. It's fortunate that they did, but it's curious nonetheless. We'll never know the whole story, but it would be scary to think that radio interference from mobile devices might be a factor in such crashes.
  • Reply 3 of 91
    tenobelltenobell Posts: 7,014member
    That is highly unlikely.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by coolfactor View Post


    but it would be scary to think that radio interference from mobile devices might be a factor in such crashes.



  • Reply 4 of 91
    estyleestyle Posts: 201member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by coolfactor View Post


    GPS doesn't work in Airplane Mode, right? So why did this passenger have their iPhone's GPS enabled. It's fortunate that they did, but it's curious nonetheless. We'll never know the whole story, but it would be scary to think that radio interference from mobile devices might be a factor in such crashes.



    Answer: Air force flight, not commercial flight.



    As a private pilot I use my iPhone when flying. It does not affect my instruments at all. Different shielding, sensitivities and regulations in different types and purposes of planes.
  • Reply 5 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TenoBell View Post


    That is highly unlikely.



    I know. With aircraft gaining Wifi capability, technology has advanced enough where former concerns are now moot. And we're all being bombarded with radio waves all day long, so why would a small mobile device be a concern? The proximity of the transmitter inside the aircraft, I imagine.



    I guess I'm just surprised because I tend to stay "inside the lines", following rules for the safety of everyone. So my curiosity is piqued when learning about someone who had no regard for the rules by leaving his device enabled. But again, I realize I don't have the full story, just a curiosity.
  • Reply 6 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by estyle View Post


    Answer: Air force flight, not commercial flight.



    As a private pilot I use my iPhone when flying. It does not affect my instruments at all. Different shielding, sensitivities and regulations in different types and purposes of planes.



    Good answer. :-)
  • Reply 7 of 91
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by coolfactor View Post


    GPS doesn't work in Airplane Mode, right? So why did this passenger have their iPhone's GPS enabled. It's fortunate that they did, but it's curious nonetheless. We'll never know the whole story, but it would be scary to think that radio interference from mobile devices might be a factor in such crashes.



    Are you kidding? Do you not know anyone older than 40 with an iPhone? These people have NO CLUE how to use airplane mode, or even what it is. Almost to a man.
  • Reply 8 of 91
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Airlines ditching paper flight manuals for iPads. Next their be replacing the on-board locaters and blackboxes (once Assistant goes live) with iPhones.
  • Reply 9 of 91
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cameronj View Post


    Are you kidding? Do you not know anyone older than 40 with an iPhone? These people have NO CLUE how to use airplane mode, or even what it is. Almost to a man.



    Gee, isn't that kind of a broad brush? Have you personally interviewed some non-trivial percentage of "people over 40 who own an iPhone" to support your claim?



    Because my impression (no more valid than yours, but based on a fair number of iPhone users over 40) is that this kind of information gets passed around pretty readily. It's not like hitting a few settings buttons is an overwhelming tech hurdle for these clueless old people, or anything.
  • Reply 10 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cameronj View Post


    Are you kidding? Do you not know anyone older than 40 with an iPhone? These people have NO CLUE how to use airplane mode, or even what it is. Almost to a man.



    Good to hear that Steve Jobs and the rest of Apple management is 39 years young.
  • Reply 11 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cameronj View Post


    Are you kidding? Do you not know anyone older than 40 with an iPhone? These people have NO CLUE how to use airplane mode, or even what it is. Almost to a man.



    It was a woman. She was 39.5
  • Reply 12 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


    Good to hear that Steve Jobs and the rest of Apple management is 39 years young.



    Yep, good thing he quit. I had a feeling he was over the hill.
  • Reply 13 of 91
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    Gee, isn't that kind of a broad brush? Have you personally interviewed some non-trivial percentage of "people over 40 who own an iPhone" to support your claim?



    Because my impression (no more valid than yours, but based on a fair number of iPhone users over 40) is that this kind of information gets passed around pretty readily. It's not like hitting a few settings buttons is an overwhelming tech hurdle for these clueless old people, or anything.



    Yeah, I run a computer company that helps users with technology. I have helped a total of about 2,000 clients in over 4,000 separate jobs over the past 8 years with any and all questions. And yes, no one knows what airplane mode is, over the age of 40. And yes, hitting a few settings buttons is an overwhelming tech hurdle for these clueless old people (your words, not mine).



    They're good at plenty of things, but not figuring out anything inside the settings area of a smartphone.
  • Reply 14 of 91
    lanklank Posts: 27member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cameronj View Post


    Are you kidding? Do you not know anyone older than 40 with an iPhone? These people have NO CLUE how to use airplane mode, or even what it is. Almost to a man.



    My wife and I are both over 60. On our recent flight both of our iPhones and our iPad were in airplane mode. Our, well under 40, seat mate's Android was on and not in airplane mode for the whole flight from Anchorage to Seattle. And, believe me, she was not one you would have wanted to instruct in such matters unless you wanted to cause an in flight incident. So, please keep your ignorance to yourself. Thanks!
  • Reply 15 of 91
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Lank View Post


    My wife and I are both over 60. On our recent flight both of our iPhones and our iPad were in airplane mode. Our, well under 40, seat mate's Android was on and not in airplane mode for the whole flight from Anchorage to Seattle. And, believe me, she was not one you would have wanted to instruct in such matters unless you wanted to cause an in flight incident. So, please keep your ignorance to yourself. Thanks!



    Sorry, but go ahead and ask your friends if they know what it is and how to do it. You can also ask them if they know how to connect to a wifi network and while you're at it ask them if they know their email password. When they say "my email doesn't have a password" don't be surprised. If I had a nickel for everytime I heard that exact phrase, I'd be rich.
  • Reply 16 of 91
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    An iPhone survived an airplane crash into the ocean, kept functioning in salt water conditions, and was able to communicate with a cell tower?
  • Reply 17 of 91
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cameronj View Post


    Are you kidding? Do you not know anyone older than 40 with an iPhone? These people have NO CLUE how to use airplane mode, or even what it is. Almost to a man.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cameronj View Post


    Yeah, I run a computer company that helps users with technology. I have helped a total of about 2,000 clients in over 4,000 separate jobs over the past 8 years with any and all questions. And yes, no one knows what airplane mode is, over the age of 40. And yes, hitting a few settings buttons is an overwhelming tech hurdle for these clueless old people (your words, not mine).



    They're good at plenty of things, but not figuring out anything inside the settings area of a smartphone.



    Grow up. I suppose you think that all Asians are good at math, all blacks are athletic and eat watermelon and all Italians are gangsters, too.



    Flipping idiot. (Oh, and for the record, I'm well over 40 and have no problems enabling Airplane Mode on my phone).



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jd_in_sb View Post


    An iPhone survived an airplane crash into the ocean, kept functioning in salt water conditions, and was able to communicate with a cell tower?



    That's the part that amazed me. Something tells me that there's a piece of the puzzle missing.
  • Reply 18 of 91
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cameronj View Post


    Sorry, but go ahead and ask your friends if they know what it is and how to do it. You can also ask them if they know how to connect to a wifi network and while you're at it ask them if they know their email password. When they say "my email doesn't have a password" don't be surprised. If I had a nickel for everytime I heard that exact phrase, I'd be rich.



    Dude, shut up already!
  • Reply 19 of 91
    I doubt the iPhone could still broadcast but the Find My iPhone service might return the location of the last ping?
  • Reply 20 of 91
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cameronj View Post


    Are you kidding? Do you not know anyone older than 40 with an iPhone? These people have NO CLUE how to use airplane mode, or even what it is. Almost to a man.



    FYI personal computers were around when *fifty* year-olds were teenagers. Not all people over 40 are clueless.
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