Narrative:

Some non-pilot friends were flown into a backcountry private airstrip; which we have permission from the owner to use and land. I routinely fly formation in the air and on the water daily. The non-pilot friends wanted to see a simulated water assisted landing; which I have trained for and done many times before. The pre-brief contained the information that all observers were to remain on the field so they were 500 feet from the aircraft at all times as per 91.119. I made sure the river was clear by flying up-river and completed the maneuver without incident. [A few] days later the observers posted a video on [online] which enraged a rafter group on the internet. To be clear; the rafters were not at the site during the maneuver. Due to the radical comments by the rafters I realized they were going to call the FAA and do everything in their power to get me in trouble. I am both extremely proficient with my plane and have a high regard for the rules. I watched the video very closely and noticed that the observers did not stay where I wanted them to stay; and potentially were closer than 500 feet from the aircraft during the touch and go simulated water assist landing. While 91.119 does not come into play in a landing or takeoff I realize this maneuver is not a clear cut takeoff or landing. I only became aware of this after watching the video; during the maneuver neither of us noticed people close to the bank of the river; and if I would have; I would have knocked off the maneuver immediately. My personal corrective action is going to potentially be to not do this type of maneuver for non-pilots; or to stress harder that there are rules for a reason and if I break them I can have action taken against me.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Two pilots reported they may have inadvertently flown less than 500 feet over a populated area.

Narrative: Some non-pilot friends were flown into a backcountry private airstrip; which we have permission from the owner to use and land. I routinely fly formation in the air and on the water daily. The non-pilot friends wanted to see a simulated water assisted landing; which I have trained for and done many times before. The pre-brief contained the information that all observers were to remain on the field so they were 500 feet from the aircraft at all times as per 91.119. I made sure the river was clear by flying up-river and completed the maneuver without incident. [A few] days later the observers posted a video on [online] which enraged a rafter group on the internet. To be clear; the rafters were not at the site during the maneuver. Due to the radical comments by the rafters I realized they were going to call the FAA and do everything in their power to get me in trouble. I am both extremely proficient with my plane and have a high regard for the rules. I watched the video very closely and noticed that the observers did not stay where I wanted them to stay; and potentially were closer than 500 feet from the aircraft during the touch and go simulated water assist landing. While 91.119 does not come into play in a landing or takeoff I realize this maneuver is not a clear cut takeoff or landing. I only became aware of this after watching the video; during the maneuver neither of us noticed people close to the bank of the river; and if I would have; I would have knocked off the maneuver immediately. My personal corrective action is going to potentially be to not do this type of maneuver for non-pilots; or to stress harder that there are rules for a reason and if I break them I can have action taken against me.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.