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FAA Enforcement and YouTube

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Key Takeaways:

  • The FAA has issued a new national policy (N 8900.292) instructing its safety inspectors on how to handle online flying videos.
  • Under this policy, inspectors cannot demand the removal of posted videos (citing First Amendment rights), and a video alone is generally not sufficient evidence for enforcement without further authentication.
  • The policy clarifies that merely posting a video to a for-profit site like YouTube does not automatically classify a flight as a "commercial operation" or imply an FAR violation.
  • Consequently, the burden of proof for FAA inspectors to take enforcement action based solely on online video evidence has significantly increased.
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Invariably whenever somebody posts a fun flying video online, the Internet “sheriffs” come out in droves to inform the original poster of just how many Federal Aviation Regulations he or she has broken.

Of course, the only thing that really matters is what the FAA has to say about your video. And a new national policy spells out what actions FAA safety inspectors can — and cannot — take if they see something in a video they don’t like.

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