> The FAA didn’t say that his violation was that he intentionally crashed a plane.

the FAA did say he wore a parachute (unusual), opened the door before the engine quit, didn't follow procedure to attempt to restart the engine, and intentionally climbed out of the plane to film it rather than attempting to land it.

Yes he probably crashed the plane intentionally, but that’s not the regulation he broke.

Intentionally crashing a plane seems a pretty good example of piloting in a careless/reckless manner that endangers life or property. There's not a specific rule "they shall not crash your plane" but this is more of a catch-all rule for these kind of situations.

There's a big difference between forbidding "crashing a plane" and forbidding "recklessly endangering people and property". The most obvious example being: there are circumstances in which crashing is unavoidable. Sully, for instance, crashed a plane in a way that protected life and property.

It is much more precise to just forbid "endangering people/property" than it is to try to enumerate every action that could be dangerous and then adding exceptions.

is there such a regulation? the part I'm quibbling about is, they do express that he showed intentions

Are you suggesting that intentionally crashing a plane would not constitute operation in a “careless or reckless manner”? So as to endanger the life or property of another?

I could argue that there are cases where you could crash a plane in careful and not reckless manner. That is with extreme control, planning and probably minimising the potential damages such as environmental by removing as much hazardous stuff as possible. Plus having extensive planning on operation. Still unlikely to get approved, but I see it to be possible.

I am suggesting that it may be possible to safely, carefully, and legally crash a plane in a controlled scenario.

For instance: https://youtu.be/zuynxwQMad4

I think he's suggesting that the FAA regulation he violated was operating the plane in a careless or reckless manner. He did that by intentionally crashing his plane.

You are misinterpreting my comment.

I am saying that the problem is that he was careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.

I am suggesting that a controlled crash where someone was not careless or reckless would probably not be a problem. Say for instance, in a controlled crash test by a manufacturer.