Careful what you post
We talk a lot about how video is a great addition to your website, and we’ve devoted a few columns to the type of video content you should create. You want content that will enhance—not detract from—your flight school’s professional image. To that end, you shouldn’t post anything dangerous or illegal in your videos. Most flight schools get that.
A flight school promoting accelerated training programs in Southern California posted a video that, on a cursory viewing, seems fine. The video uses background music, subtitles, and prominently displays the name of the flight school at the beginning and end.
Here’s the problem: The video shows the instructor and student doing a practice ILS approach in marginal VFR that becomes instrument meteorological conditions. The CFII is seen calling ATC for a pop-up IFR clearance, but at this point in the video, the airplane is in the clouds—and the instructor even acknowledges that to the student, essentially confirming the infraction and removing all doubt.
The video was originally uploaded to YouTube and then was removed.
Problem solved, right? Not quite. Nothing on the Internet ever goes away. Even though the owner removed the video from YouTube, somebody else made a copy that was subsequently posted somewhere else. So you can still see the video—and the VFR-into-IMC flight—if you do a little digging around the Reddit aviation forum. And if you can still see it, that means the FAA can still see it.
Should this scare you away from creating and sharing videos? Absolutely not. But it should prompt you to examine your own video and social media practices. Some things to consider:
Who creates videos for you? Is it you, an employee, one of your video-savvy children? Is it someone you pay professionally? No matter who fills this role, you need to be the one who signs off on the final product.
Who posts video? If that person is not you, your approval should be required before anything goes up on the internet.
Who has final authority over what can and cannot be posted? That’s you. For now, you must control any social media or video content that represents your business, shows your logo, or features your employees and customers.
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