The media loves these kinds of “silly-thing-was-important” stories, but mass text messaging from an emergency can serve a huge purpose in recovery effort (“careful– there’s gas leaks everywhere, “there’s a pocket of air in the bulkhead”, “approach fromthe left”, etc.)
OMG: Text messaging an important part of response – Yahoo News
Snodgrass was one of the last people off the plane. He told The Herald of Rock Hill that he called his wife as he stood in shin-deep water on the wing, waiting to be rescued. She was distraught, watching television and fearing the worst after getting that text message, but all was well.