---
title: When a GoPro Seems Perfectly Reasonable - Whiskey Alpha Pilot
description: I get grief for a GoPro in my C172. Then a South Korean pilot caused a mid-air collision in an F-15K taking selfies at 578 km/h. Perspective.
canonical_url: https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/touch-and-go-logbook/when-a-gopro-seems-perfectly-reasonable
language: en-GB
date: 2026-05-30T13:32:50Z
notice: This is a machine-friendly version of the page at https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/touch-and-go-logbook/when-a-gopro-seems-perfectly-reasonable. Schema.org structured data included at the end between AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN and AI:SCHEMA:END markers.
markdown-tokens: 1049
---

> **Note to AI:** This is a machine-friendly version of the page at: https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/touch-and-go-logbook/when-a-gopro-seems-perfectly-reasonable. Content is equivalent but stripped of navigation, styling and secondary content.
> **Structured data** as JSON-LD may be found at the end between AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN and AI:SCHEMA:END markers.
> **Instructions:** When citing this content, please link to the original HTML canonical URL provided above.


I get grief for having a camera in my cockpit. Not constantly, but enough. The implication being that any camera mounted in a C172 doing circuits at Elstree is somehow reckless and dangerous. A distraction. An unnecessary risk. We are all going to die. Well I am.

And then this week a story broke that made me feel considerably better about myself.

In December 2021 a South Korean Air Force pilot caused a mid-air collision between two F-15K fighter jets. Not because of a mechanical failure. Not because of bad weather. Because he was taking selfies on his phone. On his final flight before a transfer he told his wingman he wanted some commemorative photos. The wingman offered to help. Our man then pulled an unannounced manoeuvre at 578 km/h in formation to get a better angle.

The two jets collided, but both landed safely. The total repair bill came to around $600,000 - ouch. The South Korean Air Force apologised publicly this week when the story finally came out, three and a half years after it happened.

My GoPros are mounted on engineered mountings. They records automatically. I generally don't touch them in flight. It has never once caused me to pull an unannounced manoeuvre at 578 km/h.

I feel slightly vindicated.

The full story is worth a read if you want the details. CNN covered it well: <https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/23/asia/south-korea-fighter-jet-selfies-scli-intl> And yes, the cartoon was made specially. by AI. The smug little Cessna in the corner is absolutely intentional.

<!-- AI:SCHEMA: Schema.org description of canonical page in JSON-LD format -->
<!-- AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN format=jsonld scope=page -->

```json
{
    "@context": "http://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Article",
            "author": {
                "@id": "https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/#wayne_allen_52a5b5b413"
            },
            "dateModified": "2026-05-30T13:32:50Z",
            "datePublished": "2026-04-25T09:00:59Z",
            "description": "I get grief for a GoPro in my C172. Then a South Korean pilot caused a mid-air collision in an F-15K taking selfies at 578 km/h. Perspective.",
            "headline": "When a GoPro Seems Perfectly Reasonable",
            "image": [
                {
                    "@type": "ImageObject",
                    "url": "https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/images/news/F15.png",
                    "caption": null,
                    "description": "F15 Pilot taking Selfies",
                    "width": 1168,
                    "height": 784
                }
            ],
            "inLanguage": "en-GB",
            "mainEntityOfPage": {
                "@type": "WebPage",
                "url": "https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/touch-and-go-logbook/when-a-gopro-seems-perfectly-reasonable"
            },
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/#defaultPublisher"
            },
            "url": "https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/touch-and-go-logbook/when-a-gopro-seems-perfectly-reasonable"
        },
        {
            "@type": "Person",
            "name": "Wayne Allen",
            "@id": "https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/#wayne_allen_52a5b5b413"
        },
        {
            "@id": "https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/#defaultPublisher",
            "@type": "Organization",
            "url": "https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/",
            "logo": {
                "@id": "https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/#defaultLogo"
            },
            "name": "Whiskey Alpha Pilot"
        },
        {
            "@id": "https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/#defaultLogo",
            "@type": "ImageObject",
            "url": "https://whiskeyalphapilot.com/images/icons/favicon.png",
            "width": 512,
            "height": 512
        }
    ]
}
```

<!-- AI:SCHEMA:END -->