Reports have revealed that a pilot taking selfies may have caused a plane crash in Colorado that killed the pilot and his passenger. Recordings from a GoPro (on board) camera revealed that the pilot and various passengers were taking self-photographs with their cell phones and, during the night flight, using the camera’s flash function during the takeoff roll, initial climb, and flight in the traffic pattern.
The National Transportation Safety Board report stated that 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.
Last April, a woman died in a head-on collision on Interstate 85 in North Carolina just seconds after she had updated her Facebook status with selfies taken while she was driving.
