Such ‘selfie’ activities are very common these days and there is a difficult balance to be struck between beneficially promoting the airline/industry and negatively impacting safety. Filming or taking photos when conducting aviation tasks at the same time has clear risks of distraction and lack of situational awareness. It could not be determined whether in this case the photos were staged or were being conducted ad hoc whilst operating, but there was undoubtedly a risk of normalisation of deviance from procedures given that the others involved in taking the photos (i.e. the associated captains) seemed to condone the activities by allowing them to be carried out. Companies have specific social media policies these days and so those conducting such activities need to be aware of what these were (some companies allow such activities above FL200 only for example); companies might even provide assistance in conducting such activities if there were promotional benefits for the company. Individuals also need to be aware that many airports prohibit filming or photography on their ramps and therefore doing so during a walkaround might also contravene the airport’s rules. CHIRP doesn’t want to be a spoil sport and there is much value in showing off the aviation industry in a positive light to as wide an audience as possible; but before pulling out a personal mobile when airside or airborne, it’s worth ensuring that the rules and risks are understood, that company social media policy has been applied and that all actions would stand up to scrutiny in the court of public opinion.
