Federal investigators concluded that a pilot’s habit of taking selfies and other cell phone use at low altitude likely helped cause a fatal plane crash last May.
The pilot, 29-year-old Amritpal Singh, wrecked his plane into a Colorado field shortly after midnight of May 31, 2014, killing him and his passenger on impact. A GoPro camera was discovered intact near the crash site, and a review of its files revealed several in-flight recordings of the cockpit. While none of the footage was taken during the accident flight, videos of previous travel — probably taken the day before and the day of the crash, the NTSB determined — revealed the pilot taking self photographs and manipulating his cell phone on multiple occasions over the course of several flights.
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“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” of the aircraft, the NTSB wrote in its report.
The agency listed six distinct video files recovered from the GoPro. A description of the final one read, “The pilot began the takeoff roll and departed the runway. During the climb out portion of flight, the pilot uses his cell phone to take a self-photograph. The camera’s flash was activated and illuminated the cockpit area. The pilot’s cell phone appeared to be on a user screen consistent with a camera application. The pilot landed and can be seen using his cell phone during the landing rollout. The recording appeared to have ended normally.”
Previous videos carried with them similar descriptions, with the pilot even moving a passenger’s phone out of his line of sight at one point. “Later, the pilot can be seen taking self-photographs during the climbout portion of the flight,” that particular description continued.
The NTSB’s report added that logbooks did not reveal if Singh had met key flight requirements.