A videograb shows Ernesto Galiotto filming the scenery from a plane.

Gulf Today Report

When your mobile phone falls on the floor from your hand, there is a gasp of panic. If the phone escapes without a scratch, you heave a sigh of relief and count yourself lucky.

A good number of phones would get damaged in the process, but would you say that about the world's most celebrated mobile phone, the iPhone, demand for which has always hit the stratosphere? Would it be destroyed if it fell hundreds of feet to the ground? If a recent incident is anything to go by, the answer would be 'No.'  

An iPhone 6S fell from a height of 2,000 feet – from an aircraft – and, barring a few scratches, it was OK.

This happened in the case of Brazilian filmmaker and environmentalist Ernesto Galiotto, who was trying to capture the exotic scenery outside his plane from the window of a small plane while flying over Rio de Janeiro.

Ernesto Galiotto finds his phone on the beach.

As Ernesto Galiotto was recording the visuals, the wind blew the phone out of his hands and it fell nearly 2,000 feet.

But in a video that has since been widely shared on social media, he not only found the phone but discovered it was in working condition, according to a report in a section of the Indian media.

A camera inside the plane’s cabin recorded the moment the phone slipped out of the filmmaker’s hands.

However, a day later, the filmmaker found the phone, near a beach, that too in working condition. Its damage: a few scratches.

Ernesto Galiotto shows his phone.

Galiotto told G1 Globo he had been optimistic about finding his phone if it hadn’t fallen into the water. However, he was worried that the falling device might have injured someone.

With the help of his friend Victor de Oliveira Tostes, Galiotto activated the mobile phone’s GPS tracking system to find it.

“Hey guys, whether you believe it or not, the cell phone that flew from my plane is here, in the middle of nature, in fact, we are the ones who help to defend nature and then nature protected! It’s here, kids!” Galiotto says in the video after retrieving the phone.

The incident is real, though doubting Thomases might think it is a publicity stunt by Apple to boost sales of its iconic product.