I think we've probably all done this at some stage, but I never knew it could get you into trouble. Is it a law specific to Japan, or does it apply elsewhere as well?
American Air Nippon Network pilot facing suspension for taking photos of cockpit
An American chief pilot for Air Nippon Network (A-net) is taking heat for uploading three photos taken in the cockpit while on duty to a Web site.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism issued A-net, a subsidiary of All Nippon Airways (ANA), with a formal warning over the incident on Friday. The ministry is also considering suspending the 31-year-old chief pilot for violating the Civil Aeronautics Law.
The photos were found as a result of a call to ANA from a person who saw the Web site. According to ANA, the pilot said he wanted to show them to his pilot friends, and had been taking them for the last two years.
According to the ministry and ANA, the chief pilot took photos of runways and cockpit instruments three times on Dec. 6 2008: at the takeoff and landing of Flight 1604 from Kochi to Itami, and during Flight 1667 from Itami to Odate Noshiro. A 44-year-old copilot was flying the plane.
Click here for the original Japanese story
(Mainichi Japan) January 30, 2009
American Air Nippon Network pilot facing suspension for taking photos of cockpit - The Mainichi Daily News