Parachuting Safety Issues

Palmpilot

Palmpilot

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Apr 1, 2007
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Richard Palm
Always someone wanting to regulate something into "100% safe".
Should probably put an end to those motorcycles.
Need more regulation of wingsuit flying.
Rock climbing should really have a government monitor at each event to approve the climb.
Small planes; they've made progress but not good enough - banned.
 
Well that's quite the hit piece.
 
I have lived near a very busy skydiving center for 20 years. Can't recall the last time I heard about a fatality. The Lodi center sounds sketchy. The paper did their local readers a service reporting on it.
 
less than 1 a year. I'm sure a minuscule number relative to the non-fatal jumps. You pays your money, you takes your chances.
 
I've got about a dozen jumps there in the distant past including a few With Bill. Lodi has been one of the busiest drop zone over the years, though it has slowed down a lot in recent times. Yes, they are a bit of a cowboy operation, they are not USPA members and will let people set their own limits so there is more drama than the vast majority of operations. But 28 over nearly 40 years needs to be kept in perspective.

Some general statistics here.
 
Need a deep dive into the cause of each accident.
And an analysis of how the facility was at fault.
Is the facility responsible for packing the chutes?
Once a person leaves the airplane, can anyone influence what they do?
 
year old NIH paper on Skydiving Risk:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Recreational Skydiving—Really That Dangerous? A Systematic Review

Skydiving have gained mainstream popularity over the past decades. However, limited data exist on the injury risk or type associated with skydiving. This systematic review evaluated the injuries and fatalities of civilian skydivers. A PRISMA-guided literature ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 
jbarrass said:
I've got about a dozen jumps there in the distant past including a few With Bill. Lodi has been one of the busiest drop zone over the years, though it has slowed down a lot in recent times. Yes, they are a bit of a cowboy operation, they are not USPA members and will let people set their own limits so there is more drama than the vast majority of operations. But 28 over nearly 40 years needs to be kept in perspective.

Some general statistics here.
Click to expand...
If data were available on the number of jumps at Lodi over those 40 years, then it would be possible to gain perspective by comparing their fatality rate to the statistics on that USPA page.
 
Fora 0.27 rate, if I did the math right, 28 fatalities would require 10,370,000 jumps over about 40 years. Or about 250,000 jumps per year.

Hmm, that is 700 jumps a day, EVERY day.

I would say their fatality rate is a bit higher than the USPA average.
 
But does that mean there is a problem with the facility?
Or that it is closer to more hotdog-type jumpers?
Need to review each fatal.
 
Unless both of these deaths can be directly attributed to his incompetence as an instructor - he should not end up in jail and I doubt he will.
 
Warmi said:
Unless both of these deaths can be directly attributed to his incompetence as an instructor - he should not end up in jail and I doubt he will.
Click to expand...
He'll go to jail for the fraud and ID theft. Not enough info to determine if it was the cause of the fatality but he's accused of faking his credentials.
 
If he gets any jail time, it’ll be in county. California mostly stopped sending nonviolent felons to prison eight or 10 years ago. Most likely he’ll get felony probation that will include terms prohibiting him from involvement in commercial parachuting or aviation operations. If there is any custody time, it will most likely be done on work release (cleaning or trash or something similar).

Probation for nonviolent felonies was already well-established when I started in California law enforcement in the 80s.
 
ateamer said:
If he gets any jail time, it’ll be in county. California mostly stopped sending nonviolent felons to prison eight or 10 years ago. Most likely he’ll get felony probation that will include terms prohibiting him from involvement in commercial parachuting or aviation operations. If there is any custody time, it will most likely be done on work release (cleaning or trash or something similar).

Probation for nonviolent felonies was already well-established when I started in California law enforcement in the 80s.
Click to expand...
He was convicted by a jury in federal court, according to an article linked from the article linked here.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Consequences. Jail time likely.

www.abc10.com

Instructor at embattled Lodi Parachute Center found guilty in skydiving course scheme

Robert Pooley was indicted after one of his unauthorized students fell to his death while with a skydiving customer.
www.abc10.com www.abc10.com
Click to expand...
Yikes:

In 2015, both the USPA and UPT suspended Pooley's tandem examiner ratings. Despite the suspension, prosecutors say Pooley continued to lead USPA and UPT tandem instructor courses.​
​
Pooley hid the fact that he was suspended from students and falsely told them that he was still a tandem examiner.​
​
Court documents say that Pooley helped students fill out their USPA and UPT rating paperwork to further the impression that they could get legitimate ratings through his courses.​
​
Pooley used a picture of another properly rated USPA and UPT tandem examiner's signature to sign off on the trainings. The examiner whose signature Pooley forged was out of the country during the scheme.​
 
Warmi said:
Unless both of these deaths can be directly attributed to his incompetence as an instructor - he should not end up in jail and I doubt he will.
Click to expand...
"and a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft."

No choice, he has been found guilty of a charge that carries a mandatory sentence.
 
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