Find My iPhone App Helps Find Chilean Plane Crash Wreckage

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A strange, but still valuable, emergency use for an Apple device has come to light once again by way of the disastrous plane crash in Chile. 17 people were on that flight, but one of them was carrying an iPhone. And it was the use of this device that has allowed rescue efforts to find the plane’s wreckage.

The story is a tragic one in its own right: a small craft carrying 17 passengers attempted to make two landings at a Chilean airport, but was blown off course in the attempt and, until recently, its whereabouts were unknown. One of the passengers, though, used the Find My iPhone app to log the then-current coordinates of the iPhone via the GPS system, reportedly, which gave rescue efforts a last-known location to start their search. And indeed, thanks to those coordinates, a wheel from the plane itself had been found, with rescuers expected to find the entire fuselage not long after.

It’s actually kind of impressive, in its way; no, not the plane crash itself, but rather the ways in which iPhones are finding themselves used as emergency tools in really rather unexpected fashion.  Not only do we have this story of an iPhone 4 being used in a markedly similar fashion to an ELT (though not quite, the analogy is a fair one however), but we also had a story a few months back of helicopter pilots using iPhone 4 mapping functions as a way to get around despite flooded streets and landmarks in Queensland during the January flooding. Say what you will about Apple in general, but the point is, their devices really do offer a laundry list of functions, including more than a few that no device was probably ever meant to have.

But what about you guys? Who here has used their iPhone, iPad, or iPod in a way that you might not expect, but in a way that may have done a lot of good? Anyone here have a story of lives saved with an iDevice? Head on down to the comments section and share your tales of lifesaving with your Apple gear!