Aviation is one of those professions that only makes it into the news if it’s a catastrophe. But lately, pilots are making it into the news for their Instagram use. Earlier in December, Quartz published an investigation by David Yanofsky which looked further into the stunning pictures taken from cockpits.
If you’ve been on an airplane before, you know the amount of beautiful scenery one can lay eyes on from that height, and it’s no doubt even prettier from the cockpit. But the truth remains, no picture is every worth putting the safety of the crew and passengers at risk.
Even though there aren’t any clear rules against taking pictures, Yanofsky says, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued very clear rules against the use of personal wireless electronic devices.
“In commercial aviation, the primary concern is safety, and that doesn’t have any area for compromise,” said Charles “Bud” Bernat, who recently retired after flying for United Airlines for 29 years. He added, “Someone holding a camera or a device, is a big no-no.”
But what seems to be more worrying is that most of the Instagrammed pictures were taken at critical times of landing or take off. According to aviation regulations in the US, UK and the EU, a “sterile cockpit” must be maintained until the plane is at least at 3,000 meters, and again from the same height until the plane is safely parked.
When in “sterile cockpit”, pilots are prohibited from eating, drinking, or even chattering, let alone taking photos.
While these rules seem quite rigid and necessary, they actually don’t apply equally to all flights. The Quartz article hints that planes with no passengers are exempted from this rule, and so are off-duty pilots and crew members. So, while taking pictures within a “sterile cockpit” may raise some eyebrows, many other pictures may not actually have broken any rules.
