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The Apple iPhone isn't known for holding up well under physical abuse. CNN reports that Jarrod McKinney's iPhone 4 was knocked from a shelf in his bathroom by his two-year-old, and he was disheartened to find the glass broken.

He put that same iPhone 4 in a zippered pants-pocket of his skydiving suit for a jump from 13,500 feet, intending to use it once on the ground to get a video of his wife, who was jumping behind him. But when he got to the ground, he discovered he'd forgotten to zip the pocket shut, and the phone was gone.

The 37-year-old McKinney recounts, "I was actually really bumming because I've lost a phone in the past and I usually just have a ton of photos and videos of my kids on the phone. I just knew it was gone. Falling from that height? (What are) the chances of you finding something like that or even knowing where to look?"

Just for grins, McKinney tried locating it using a GPS tracking app. It showed up.

Skydiving instructor Joe Johnson tells CNN he and a few friends watched from the ground as McKinney found the shattered phone atop a two-story building, and raised it above his head in triumph. Johnson decided to call the phone's number. The phone vibrated, and its amazed owner answered.

The phone isn't very practical to use with its touchscreen shattered, but McKinney says he can still use it in his truck with a Bluetooth headset. He says he plans to get the screen fixed. Johnson plans to get an iPhone 4 himself, based on what he saw.

The phone was in an Incipio case at the time of the incident. The case was also broken, but stayed on the phone. Perhaps McKinney will enjoy 15 minutes of fame as a spokesman.

Mike Gikas, a tech editor at Consumer Reports, suggests the iPhone 4 may be more likely to survive a major fall than submersion in water. He jokes that McKinney has found the cure for the phone's notorious reception problems.

In fairness to AT&T, no...this does NOT count as a dropped call.

FMI: http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/07/18/iphone.skydive/index.html