Darwin Awards and the auto-thanatos side of auto-pilot. other fatal crashes have occurred with pilots texting during flight
A pilot taking selfies in the cockpit likely contributed to the crash of a small plane that killed him and his passenger last year near Denver, federal accident investigators concluded in a new report.
The National Transportation Safety Board released their full probable cause report about the May 31, 2014 crash and said that the evidence from the scene, including a GoPro camera with videos from recent flights, shows that the distraction of the pilot could have caused the crash.
This comes two months after the Federal Aviation Administration fielded questions over the safety of pilots taking pictures mid-flight after photos started flooding Instagram from the cockpits of private and commercial flights.
The NTSB report said investigators did not find anything wrong with the airplane itself, and say the evidence suggests the plane was not going fast enough to maintain lift before spinning out of control and crashing.
The report includes descriptions of seven videos recorded on the GoPro that was found near the wreckage and, even though they are believed to have been filmed in flights leading up to the crash but not that specific flight itself, the investigators believe the pilot could have been taking similar liberties in the air.
"Based on the evidence of cell phone use during low-altitude maneuvering, including the flight immediately before the accident flight, it is likely that cell phone use during the accident flight distracted the pilot and contributed to the development of spatial disorientation and subsequent loss of control,” the NTSB said.