Isn't this horrendously illegal?

that article is nothing more than a sales pitch for an iPhone so I no longer care about why the ignoramus dropped her crap out of an airplane.

A good article would have stated what kind of plane was used in this stunt and if they filed a flight plan or not!
 
Who knows what the laws say in Canadja about dropping objects from a/c?
Maybe they are permitted...nay, encouraged to throw electronics to the ground from great heights?
 
You can drop stuff out of an airplane if you take care to avoid hitting persons/property on the ground or something to that effect. It's an FAR somewhere.

Also, after reading the article it was clearly inadvertent so no it's not horrendously illegal.
 
She said it slipped. Not intentionally dropped.
 
Intentional or not - ugh, can you imagine accidentally dropping your phone off the empire state building? It could kill somebody - even if only accidental.
 
nj-pilot said:
Intentional or not - ugh, can you imagine accidentally dropping your phone off the empire state building? It could kill somebody - even if only accidental.
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I doubt it.

10 stories or 100 makes no difference. Terminal velocity and all.

Heck, there is exactly one documented case of a person being struck by a meteorite. Did it pulverize the victim and splatter guts all over the place? No, it caused a bad bruise.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...ussia-meteorite-ann-hodges-science-space-hit/
 
I worry about this a lot when flying the J-3 with the door open and looking at ForeFlight on my phone. But at least I don't have a selfie stick to exacerbate the risk...

2016-06-17-cw0904.jpg
 
nj-pilot said:
Intentional or not - ugh, can you imagine accidentally dropping your phone off the empire state building? It could kill somebody - even if only accidental.
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Yes.... look at all the pennies that are dropped from the Empire State Building that cut people in half.....:frown2: :lol:
 
years ago a guy was filming from a plane while sending the video to the cloud.
after the phone fell from his hands he was able to see the video that was captured on the way down.
from the video he was able to pin point the drop zone.
the phone was found alive and well covered with manure in a pig sty on a farm...
 
To your original question, no, it's not illegal.

Sec. 91.15 — Dropping objects.
No pilot in command of a civil aircraft may allow any object to be dropped from that aircraft in flight that creates a hazard to persons or property. However, this section does not prohibit the dropping of any object if reasonable precautions are taken to avoid injury or damage to persons or property.
 
Thanks Jack. I was going to post the regulation but you beat me to it. Amazing that it took 15 posts though before someone actually answered the OP question about the legality. Of course, the OP should have been able to find the regulation as well. Heck, I believe there are even questions about it on the private written exam.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Thanks Jack. I was going to post the regulation but you beat me to it. Amazing that it took 15 posts though before someone actually answered the OP question about the legality. Of course, the OP should have been able to find the regulation as well. Heck, I believe there are even questions about it on the private written exam.
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We used to drop ping pong balls with numbers on them at a local charity event. The kids would run grab them and win prizes. That and we may or may not have dropped a few rolls of toilet paper to chase!
 
I watched a YouTube video where a girl was trying to get her iPhone out and it flew out of the window of a Cub. She was later contacted by a lady who found it in her back yard. It was still functional. This is probably the same story.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Thanks Jack. I was going to post the regulation but you beat me to it. Amazing that it took 15 posts though before someone actually answered the OP question about the legality. Of course, the OP should have been able to find the regulation as well. Heck, I believe there are even questions about it on the private written exam.
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Nope, it took 19 posts. This incident took place in Canada:

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-96-433/FullText.html#s-602.23

602.23 No person shall create a hazard to persons or property on the surface by dropping an object from an aircraft in flight.

Its unlikely the PIC made sure the area was safe to drop, but nevertheless the dropping was unintentional. Either way, one could argue the PIC was reckless by allowing the passenger to hold a untethered item out the window.
 
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Brad Z said:
Nope, it took 19 posts. This incident took place in Canada:

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-96-433/FullText.html#s-602.23

602.23 No person shall create a hazard to persons or property on the surface by dropping an object from an aircraft in flight.
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Damn it! I must admit that I did not read the story but just went off of what the OP posted and asked. I guess I assumed that since the OP is from New York and asked a question about legality on Pilots of AMERICA, that the question pertained to US laws and regulations. Silly me.
 
ELee3 said:
I watched a YouTube video where a girl was trying to get her iPhone out and it flew out of the window of a Cub. She was later contacted by a lady who found it in her back yard. It was still functional. This is probably the same story.
Click to expand...
That was actually a separate story and was captured on an episode of Flight Chops. Phone drop happens 60 seconds in

 
SkyDog58 said:
Amazing that it took 15 posts though before someone actually answered the OP question about the legality.
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Actually, it was in post #5, but nobody has yet to answer the Canadian legality. Their rule says:
602.23 No person shall create a hazard to persons or property on the surface by dropping an object from an aircraft in flight.

So, in Canada it was potentially illegal but since nobody and no property was harmed then I suspect a warning at best is in order.
 
When discussing that reg with students, I ask: "what is the most common thing dropped from aircraft?"

Answer: people (skydivers) :) Beer cans and cigarette butts may be a close second...
 
bflynn said:
Actually, it was in post #5, but nobody has yet to answer the Canadian legality. Their rule says:
602.23 No person shall create a hazard to persons or property on the surface by dropping an object from an aircraft in flight.

So, in Canada it was potentially illegal but since nobody and no property was harmed then I suspect a warning at best is in order.
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Sorry, you're 7 posts too late.
 
Is horrendous a legal term now, or was your use of it horrenously hyperbolic?
 
I believe "horrendous" pushes it further towards the felony category.
 
ELee3 said:
I watched a YouTube video where a girl was trying to get her iPhone out and it flew out of the window of a Cub. She was later contacted by a lady who found it in her back yard. It was still functional. This is probably the same story.
Click to expand...

Yes, look on the YouTube channel for FlightChops (excellent GA channel BTW). There was a pilot who accidentally dropped her phone from the back seat of a Super Cub.

As a further plug to FlightChops he has various series on Warbirds, Mountain Flying, Tailwheel Flying, and just general 10-minute documentaries on what it's like being a private pilot. Some amazing examples of wake turbulence, freaked PAX, and high-DA flying. One of the best channels on YouTube.
 
labbadabba said:
Yes, look on the YouTube channel for FlightChops (excellent GA channel BTW). There was a pilot who accidentally dropped her phone from the back seat of a Super Cub.

As a further plug to FlightChops he has various series on Warbirds, Mountain Flying, Tailwheel Flying, and just general 10-minute documentaries on what it's like being a private pilot. Some amazing examples of wake turbulence, freaked PAX, and high-DA flying. One of the best channels on YouTube.
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his channel is pretty cool.
 
Horrendously illegal? Naw, that's just "hold my beer and watch this" illegal.
 
Lachlan said:
That was a girl? Yikes!
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Looks like the replacement lead singer for Journey. But hey, if you're into Asian dudes that might pass for chick at 3 am after downing a bottle of Glenlevit like Sac is, who are we to judge?
 
EdFred said:
Looks like the replacement lead singer for Journey. But hey, if you're into Asian dudes that might pass for chick at 3 am after downing a bottle of Glenlevit like Sac is, who are we to judge?
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I Judge,,, that even if youre into Journey and asian dudes,,, it would be a serious waste of good Scotch to drink Glenlevit at 3 am till whatever.....
their is lots of cheap swill booze to use if that is your goal...
I could tell she was a asian chick and I wasnt drunk,,, but some Tequila wouldnt hurt!
 
Lowflynjack said:
To your original question, no, it's not illegal.

Sec. 91.15 — Dropping objects.
No pilot in command of a civil aircraft may allow any object to be dropped from that aircraft in flight that creates a hazard to persons or property. However, this section does not prohibit the dropping of any object if reasonable precautions are taken to avoid injury or damage to persons or property.
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Here is how I interpret this:
Anyone who has ever attempted to compete in a flour bomb drop competition knows that is essentially impossible to hit anything from a moving plane, except through pure blind luck.
As proof, I offer WWII, Korea, and Vietnam where the actual success rate for bombing an object was essentially zero, unless you carpet bombed an area, and then you may get 1% or 2% of the bombs on target.
Napalm helped increase the odds, but not as much as you would think.
So, since it is virtually impossible to hit anything from a moving plane, if anything or anyone is hit by an object dropped from a plane, it's obviously their own fault for getting in the way, having unbelievably bad luck, or an act of God.
QED. Getting hit is the sole responsibility of the droppee. The dropper is in no way responsible.
And someone should have told me to take the flour out of the original 5 pound bag and put it in a paper bag instead.
 
robert lomax said:
I Judge,,, that even if youre into Journey and asian dudes,,, it would be a serious waste of good Scotch to drink Glenlevit at 3 am till whatever.....
their is lots of cheap swill booze to use if that is your goal...
I could tell she was a asian chick and I wasnt drunk,,, but some Tequila wouldnt hurt!
Click to expand...

So true... But why drink that sweet, floral Glenlivet when there's plenty of Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphraoig available?
 
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