Texting while driving is dangerous. You also shouldn't take selfies while driving. And sure as hell shouldn't take selfies while flying a friggin' plane. In Colorado, it looks like a fatal plane crash may have been caused by distracted flying. The pilot and passengers were -- you guessed it -- taking selfies.
Taking Selfies May Have Played Role In Fatal Plane Crash Near Watkins
Last week, the National Transportation Safety Board released its report on a May 2014 plane crash that killed two people when it went down near Denver. According to the report, pilot Amritpal Singh and his passenger were taking selfies with their cell phones at low altitudes, which may have contributed to the crash:
The pilot, Amritpal Singh, and his passenger were killed when their Cessna 150 crashed near Front Range Airport in Watkins shortly after midnight on May 31. National Transportation Safety Board says a GoPro camera recovered from the wreckage revealed that the pilot and various passengers had taken selfies in the plane with their cell phones, some using the camera’s flash function, during a series of past flights.
While the GoPro camera wasn't recording the fatal flight, investigators concluded that the flash from a cell phone camera likely disoriented the pilot and contributed to his loss of control of the aircraft. Singh did not meet the requirements to operate a plane at night with a passenger, according to the NTSB.
I have read far too many news stories about various people who have died while taking selfies. But crashing a friggin' airplane while taking selfies? That is a first. People, sometimes the selfies can wait.
More here: Selfies Contributed to Fatal Plane Crash, Investigators Say