An ANN Special Report: Since When Is The FAA Using the Media to
Do Its Dirtywork?
(Part One of a Four Part Special Report)
Like any member of the aviation
community, skydiving centers, often called "drop zones," have to
deal with the perceptions (regrettably, often false) foisted upon
them by the general media - which is most often
"aero-ignorant."
While tales of media inaccuracies in aviation coverage are as
plentiful as protesters at a rally for President Bush, such reports
are particularly troublesome when they appear to be instigated by
FAA personnel working well outside of the rules established for
their conduct. Such seems to be the case in a recent story of one
embattled DZ in Washington.
Kapowsin Air Sports is a busy, heavily utilized drop zone
located just outside of the Seattle area. Located on an airport
originally established by the Farrington family (which operates the
drop zone), it has been expanded into a Fly-In community as well,
hosting a number of homes for people who specifically wanted to
live on an airport which has hosted a DZ since its inception.
According to skydiving journalist Mark Harju, Kapowsin "owns and
operates turbine aircraft (a DeHavilland DHC-6 Super Otter, a
Cessna Caravan and a Grand Caravan) in accordance with FAR 91 and
FAR 105, and are a major part of the general aviation community in
Washington State."
Kapowsin Air Sports,
Ltd. is a USPA Group Member and is owned and operated by Geoff
& Jessie Farrington, who, together, have logged more than
12,000 jumps. Both were selected as members of the US Para-Ski team
(along with son Andy) and also represented the USA at the 7th World
Championship of Para-Ski in February '99 at Innsbruck, Austria.
Jessie is a USPA rated skydiving instructor and jumpmaster as well
as being a USPA Safety and Training Advisor (S&TA). Jessie also
holds an elected office with the USPA, having been elected to the
USPA Board of Directors as the Northwest Regional Director. Her
husband Geoff is a commercial pilot, flight instructor and
skydiving instructor, as well as an FAA certificated Master
Parachute Rigger and Rigger Examiner.
Kapowsin vs. "The World"
Kapowsin is now embroiled in an
amazingly vicious battle with a few neighbors who have decided that
the drop zone is no longer welcome at Kapowsin Field. The battle
has grown quite heated and has resulted in a number of verbal and
physical skirmishes as well as charges and counter-charges to the
FAA and local media. While ANN's investigation into that aspect of
the story is incomplete (we're still waiting for promised evidence
and materials from those opposed to the DZ operation), we do have
quite a story to tell about one aspect of the problem that this DZ
faces... a recent, wholly negative, story about it by Seattle TV
station, KIRO.
KIRO reporter Chris
Halsne did a heavily promoted, February 18th, story about Kapowsin
in which he claimed that the Drop Zone was the state's deadliest.
Halsne came to this conclusion by looking at the average national
skydiving stats on the number of jumps compared to each statistical
fatality (approximately one fatality per 100,000 skydives,
according to the US Parachute Association). Halsne then did some
fuzzy math to reach a conclusion disputed by numerous industry
experts.
Basically, it was this: Kapowsin has had some pretty bad
accidents, several of them fatal, over the course of eight years...
but the sad part of this story is that very few (if any) of them
seem to have occurred in a manner that would have given the staff
of the DZ much, if any, control over the circumstances.
The last fatality was almost three years ago. It occurred when a
visiting jumper (with some 1200 jumps) from an East Coast drop zone
flew into the ground, for no discernible reason, under a good
canopy while executing a somewhat aggressive approach procedure.
There was no landing flare, which is needed to slow vertical and
horizontal closure speeds. The unfortunate jumper suffered a fatal
head injury. The only known connection or influence involving
Kapowsin seems to have been the scene of the accident and nothing
else, since the jumper was properly licensed and credentialed (as
checked) when he arrived to enjoy some skydives in the scenic
Northwest.
Another fatality, the year before, occurred when a "jumper made
a low turn, possibly to avoid another skydiver, and landed very
hard. He took the whole impact on one side of his body." The jumper
was medevac'd to the hospital with pelvic fractures, a shattered
leg, and many other injuries. It should have been a survivable
accident, but after 6 weeks in the ICU, the jumper died as a result
of a "systemic antibiotic-resistant infection."
Obviously; its hard to lay this one at Kapowsin's feet, as well.
In fact, of all the fatalities in the last few years that have
occurred at Kapowsin, all have involved experienced jumpers or
instructors... all, that is, but one...
To be continued...
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.16.24)
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