Pilot's selfies caused deadly plane crash, feds say
Posted: February 3, 2015 - 1:21pm
DENVER (AP) -- Federal investigators say selfies were a likely factor in a small plane crash near Denver last year that killed two people.
The National Transportation Safety Board says recordings from a GoPro camera found near the wreckage show the pilot and a passenger were taking flash "self-photographs" with their cellphones before the May 31 crash.
An NTSB report released Friday said cellphone use likely disoriented the pilot and he lost control of the plane. It says the cause of the crash was probably an aerodynamic stall and that the aircraft spun into the ground, where it crashed in an open field.
The Denver Post reported Tuesday that the crash killed 29-year-old pilot Amritpal Singh and his passenger about a mile west of the airport they departed from right around midnight.
"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 report said.
The passenger was a musician in town for a concert, Singh's family said to the Post. Singh was giving airplane rides to people in town for the concert.