City Of Lincoln Says Company Must Have Insurance That's Not
Available
For a year,
Skydive Sacramento has been landing clients on private property
adjacent to an unused airstrip near Lincoln, California, and
shuttling them by van back to its hangar on airport property. The
owners of the company would like to set up a drop zone on the
former airport, but say anti-skydiving city officials are making
that impossible.
The city, for its part, says all Skydive Sacramento has to do is
agree to its lease terms. But they are asking for liability
insurance that a national skydiving association says has not been
offered by any company since the 1980's.
After months of negotiating, Skydive Sacramento owner Pat Garcia
has filed a formal complaint with the FAA, saying the city is
restricting a legitimate aviation activity at a facility that has
received federal airport funds.
The Sacramento Bee reports that Garcia wants to build a
parachute training and re-packing center just west of the airport.
He currently leases a hangar on the east side with runway access,
but would like things to be more convenient for himself and his
clients. But the city is asking for $1 million in liability
coverage, and wants to pass along any increase in its insurance
costs to Skydive Sacramento. It also says since utilities such as
water and sewer already exist on the east side, he can't relocate
to the west side of the airport. A construction company working on
a nearby highway has a temporary office on the west side of the
airport property
File Photo
Garcia says he can get "slip and fall" insurance for his
business, but Randy Ottinger, director of government relations for
the United States Parachute Association, says nobody will cover the
activity of skydiving from the time they step on the plane until
they land. "It has not been available to anyone in the country
since the 1980's," Ottinger said.
Ray Ferrell, president of SkyDance SkyDiving, based at the Yolo
County Airport, says you can't cover the act of skydiving, but that
the waivers signed by the jumpers are effective is protecting
cities from liability. He says the same state law that protects
cities from lawsuits brought by those injured skateboarding, for
example, covers other potentially hazardous activities like
skydiving.
The Sacramento Bee reports that there have been three fatalities
associated with skydiving in the local area in the past 6 months,
but Garcia says his operation is safe, and he has the FAA
documentation to prove it. And he said he doesn't understand the
city's motives. "Why would they keep us from operating as
successfully as we can?" Garcia asked.