Help With Assignment...?

Question

I have an extra credit assignment due December. I am making a video and the theme is "Wow" I decided to film an airline pilot flying the plane through a normal day long shift. I will be 14 when I plan to make the video... could I be in the cockpit for the flight to film it?

Answer 1

You are not allowed in the cockpit of a commercial aircraft unless you are part of the flight crew.  To be part of the flight crew you must be an airline employee with the proper ratings and ID or be an FAA Inspector.  There are other that are allowed in the cockpit such as NTSB law judges and air marshals.

So to answer your question we will not be allowed in the cockpit to make a video film.  The captain may allow you in the cockpit before the flight take off and after landing, but that is it.  

You may want to stop and thing of the liability the airline would have allowing a person in the cockpit without ratings and a video camera.  Sorry but it will not happen.

Answer 2

Since 9/11, commercial airlines now have regulations preventing anyone other than aircrew from being in the cockpit during flight.

Answer 3

The key to success will be your sincerity and ability to find the right contact to help you.  While it's highly unlikely you could be in the cockpit, especially in flight, you might be able to video a Simulator flight.  This would be more of a wow factor because it includes emergencies.

Getting access to the right person will be difficult and would probably require your teachers help to add credibility to your request.

Along the same lines but a different approach, there are many videos of accidents and near-misses on You Tube.  Perhaps you could find a means of downloading some of these to edit and combine in a video you can narrate.  That would be a lot easier and probably have more WOW factor.

Example: This video has nearly 4 minutes of phenomenal crosswind landings. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oKdJVtvM...

There are other links to interesting things like people blown of a beach by a 747. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTLGsEErW...  

St Maarten is probably the source of most scary low altitude landings as seen here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLI0pvMco...

Good Luck!

Answer 4

The previous answers are correct - you cannot be in an airline cockpit anymore.  Furthermore, there's hardly any chance that you'll be allowed in any SIDA zones, which is where a majority of the work outside of the cockpit is done.  This is any non-public area of the airport where a badge is required to access.

If you have any connections with corporations with airplanes in your area, you could try to make a video of a corporate pilot's day.  Most places wouldn't allow you to do that either, though, unless you have the right connections.  And depending on the trip profile, some corporate pilots will spend an hour prepping the plane and flight plans, an hour flying, 10 minutes cleaning the plane, 10 hours of sitting in an airport lounge, and reverse the process.  I'd recommend not filming that 10 hour stretch in real time.

Good luck with your project.  That would have been a great idea if it weren't for today's security concerns in the industry.