A aviation & planes forum. AviationBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » AviationBanter forum » rec.aviation newsgroups » Piloting
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Pilots have organized a ferocious, at times threatening, response to Quartz's story about Instagrams in the sky



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old December 16th 14, 09:25 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting,alt.politics.liberalism,sac.politics,misc.survivalism,alt.politics.media
0Bama Media Back-stabs Pilots
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1
Default Pilots have organized a ferocious, at times threatening, response to Quartz's story about Instagrams in the sky

Quartz’s investigation of commercial airline pilots taking
photos and videos of their flights provoked a furious response
from the aviation community. Hundreds of pilots and their fans
have been harassing the reporter who wrote the story with
vitriolic comments and, at times, threats of violence.

The outcry started even before the piece was published on Dec.
11. “Heads Up. D-Bag Alert,” began one thread on a message board
for pilots, after Quartz sought comment from people who had
posted images to Instagram that appeared to violate safety
rules. After the story went online, the thread erupted with
livid replies and an organized campaign to harass the reporter,
David Yanofsky.

“This mother****er needs to be put on the no fly list,” wrote
the anonymous organizer of a popular Facebook page, **** Pilots
Say, which has galvanized much of the response. Thousands of
comments, many of them threatening, have been left on Yanofsky’s
accounts on Facebook and Instagram. Photos of him have been
turned into memes. Pilots have posted cockpit photos with the
hashtag #StopYanofsky2014.

“I hope some aviator (whether it’s me or not is immaterial) gets
to throat-punch you for Christmas,” is a typical Facebook
comment.

“Hell, just thinking about it makes me feel all warm inside. Eat
**** and die.”

“C’mon ladies and gentlemen of the aviation community,” reads
another, “let’s teach this guy a lesson and give him what he
deserves!!”

“I want to see u jump off a building and die mother****er,”
someone wrote on Instagram.

And so on.

Harassing calls have been placed to Yanofsky’s cell phone and to
at least one location where he used to live. His phone number
and email address have been signed up for automated calls,
student loan inquiries, spam, and other annoyances. Atlantic
Media, which owns Quartz, was also inundated with angry calls to
its headquarters in Washington, DC. Quartz’s Facebook page has
been flooded with negative reviews.

Some of the harassment has come from pilots for commercial
airlines. One of the people involved appears to be a police
officer. The vitriol is widespread, but hardly represents all
pilots or readers of the piece.

http://img.qz.com/2014/12/screen-sho...15-at-7-50-41-
pm.png?w=640

Why the pilots are angry

The ferocity of the response reveals a close-knit community of
aviators who already feel burdened by onerous safety regulations.

Pilots on Instagram are popular for their unusual perspective on
the skies. They and their fans feel there’s nothing wrong with
posting photos taken in the cockpit.

Many of the people furious about the piece appear to be general
aviation pilots who fly non-commercial flights in small aircraft
and aren’t subject to the same strict rules. Quartz’s story
focused on commercial pilots, who aren’t allowed to use most
electronic devices, including phones and GoPro cameras, while
flying a plane.

Their photos are beautiful, but many of them, a sample of which
were included in the piece, violate rules set by American and
European regulators. Some of the violations were particularly
egregious: Commercial pilots posted images to Instagram that
were taken during takeoff and landing, when even stricter rules
are in place.

Pilots and others reacting to the piece have alleged that there
is no rule against snapping a photo when the plane is at
cruising altitude. It’s true that there is no FAA rule about
photography. Commercial pilots are prohibited from using any
personal electronic device that’s capable of wireless
transmission, such as a phone or most GoPro cameras, even if the
wireless functionality is turned off. There are exceptions for
pilots who are off-duty or sitting in the jump seat.

The US Federal Aviation Administration confirmed Quartz’s
interpretation of the rule, which was mandated by Congress to
keep pilots focused on their duties during sometimes monotonous
periods of flight. Photos during takeoff and landing
additionally violate rules mandating a “sterile cockpit” at
those times.

Despite the voluminous response, Quartz hasn’t identified any
errors with the original piece.

Some pilots have argued that, whatever the rules, snapping a
photo from the cockpit while the plane is on auto-pilot is
hardly a safety hazard. They also feel Quartz crossed a line by
naming pilots who appeared to be violating rules, effectively
exposing those people to disciplinary action. It’s unclear if
any has been taken.

Readers also objected to Quartz’s use of Instagram photos
without permission.

Loosely organized harassment

Some journalists are accustomed to threatening messages from
readers when they write about particularly charged subjects.

Occasionally those responses become more organized, which is
what happened to Yanofsky.

“They want to see the article gone,” explained Jay Walden, a
flight instructor and corporate jet pilot, who called to
complain about the piece. “They want to see his journalism
career buried.”

Much of the backlash seems to have been coordinated on message
boards and the Facebook page **** Pilots Say. Yanofsky’s phone
number was posted there several times, with instructions to
harass him. One of the people who has posted his number appears
to be a pilot for Spirit Airlines, the low-cost carrier based in
Miramar, Florida. The pilot, Glen Carpenter, spoke to Yanofsky
before the piece was published, arguing that all sorts of FAA
regulations are violated during a typical flight and that it
would be impractical to enforce them.

“I talked to this ****tard for half hour yesterday… He’s truly
an idiot,” Carpenter wrote on Facebook under the pseudonym Glen
Christopher, though the account’s username is
glen.carpenter.129. That account has been posting Yanofsky’s
cell phone number and encouraging people to call it or text him
photos taken in the cockpit.

Spirit spokesman Paul Berry confirmed the airline employs
someone named Glen Carpenter and said, “We are taking this
allegation seriously.” In a brief phone call, Carpenter denied
that he works for Spirit and said he wasn’t the person going by
Glen Christopher on Facebook.

“That’s not me,” he said.

Another person joining in the harassment appears to be Ben
Reiver, an officer with the New York Police Department. Reiver
wrote on Yanofsky’s Facebook profile, “Looking at his page, he
sure does have a lot of anti-government, anti-police, and pro
anarchist (Ferguson) on there. I’m not sure, but he may be a
security threat.”

In another comment, Reiver wrote, “It figures he lives in Park
Slope, native land of the species called: entitled communist
****bag.” Yanofsky has lived in Park Slope, a neighborhood in
Brooklyn, New York, but it’s not clear how Reiver got that
information.

Reiver didn’t respond to a Facebook message seeking comment.
Asked if Reiver worked for the NYPD, Sgt. Jessica McRorie, a
spokeswoman for the police department, said, “We’re unable to
accommodate your request.”

Not all pilots

While the vast majority of reactions to the Quartz piece have
been negative, some pilots said privately they concurred with
the concerns raised by the piece.

http://qz.com/312621/pilots-have-org...ious-at-times-
threatening-response-to-quartzs-story-about-instagrams-in-the-
sky/?utm_source=OutbrainUSM

 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
U-2 pilots: allowed to rejoin- into BOP story a425couple Naval Aviation 11 June 30th 08 06:36 PM
A story most pilots will understand, and enjoy [email protected] Piloting 8 June 30th 07 07:56 PM
NY Times Story on Pilot Population Decline Marco Leon Piloting 341 June 8th 07 06:33 PM
TE compensation and vario response times Bob Caldwell Soaring 6 April 26th 06 08:12 PM
U.S. Says 46 Pilots Lied to Obtain Their Licenses - New York Times David Lesher Owning 2 July 20th 05 07:41 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 06:43 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 AviationBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.