Federal Probe? Chicago Tribune
Dave McGrath
talks about a federal probe into skydiving. I can't seem to get the
article without registering and the registration server is down. Can
someone post it? http://www.chicagotribune.com
Thanks
Dusty
ving_death_1
--
Dusty
Delta Airlines Sucks !!!!
"Dave McGrath" <D...@caerus-technologies.co.uk> wrote in message
news:3D342F39...@caerus-technologies.co.uk...
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"Dusty" <Dusty_Trale@nospam_earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:mSWY8.24806$A43.2...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
>
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020715/ap_on_re_us/skydi
> ving_death_1
>
> --
> Dusty
>
> Delta Airlines Sucks !!!!
> "Dave McGrath" <D...@caerus-technologies.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:3D342F39...@caerus-technologies.co.uk...
> > Someone told me there is an article in the online chicago tribune that
> > talks about a federal probe into skydiving. I can't seem to get the
> > article without registering and the registration server is down. Can
> > someone post it? http://www.chicagotribune.com
> >
Illinois skydiving club Monday after a 33-year-old Indiana man was killed
over the weekend in the sixth fatal accident at the club in a little more
than a year.
Ronald Passmore Jr. of Butler, Ind., was jumping with Skydive Chicago
on Sunday afternoon when he tried to land in a pond but struck the water too
hard, LaSalle County Coroner Jody Bernard said
Several people pulled Passmore from the water, and he was taken to Ottawa
Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The accident happened near Ottawa, which is about 70 miles southwest of
Chicago.
``His parachute was fully deployed; it was just a matter of a hard landing,'
' Bernard said.
She said Passmore was an expert skydiver who had made frequent jumps with
Skydive Chicago.
An autopsy was to be performed Monday including toxicology tests that will
determine if Passmore had drugs or alcohol in his system. Results from those
tests will be available in four to six weeks, Bernard said.
The LaSalle County Sheriff's Department was investigating the death, the
sixth fatality at Skydive Chicago since July 9, 2001. The last one occurred
May 18 when 28-year-old Skydive Chicago instructor John Faulkner plunged to
his death after his parachute failed to open.
Sheriff Tom Templeton said interviews would be conducted with witnesses and
other participants in the dive, and the Federal Aviation Administration
would check Passmore's equipment.
He said investigations into other deaths at Skydive Chicago turned up no
criminal activity and were all ruled accidents.
``I guess it's the peril of the sport,'' Templeton said. ``It's an
inherently dangerous sport.'' LaSalle County State's Attorney Joe Hettel
echoed Templeton, adding that he found the deaths ``disconcerting.''
``This is literally happening right outside my window. I see people jumping
all the time,'' he said. ``It's frustrating to have these things happening.
... (But) absent some changes in law there's nothing that can be done by law
enforcement.''
Bernard said she wasn't alarmed by the string of recent deaths. The club is
one of the nation's largest skydiving operations, with about 75,000 jumps a
year. ``I think you have to put it into perspective,'' Bernard said. ``The
percentages are actually very low when you put it all together.''
Still, the fatality rate at Skydive Chicago is much higher than the national
average. According to the U.S. Parachute Association, there are about 30
skydiving deaths per year in the United States. With more than 3 million
jumps annually, that's a rate of 1 death in 110,000 jumps.
Skydive Chicago owner Roger Nelson did not return calls for comment Monday.
The sport's sanctioning body, the U.S. Parachute Association, normally
inquires about deaths and can withdraw its sanction of clubs and schools.
The group's executive director was returning from a board meeting held over
the weekend at Skydive Chicago and was unavailable to comment Monday.
Tandmterry
>Date: 7/16/02 2:37 PM !!!First Boot!!
This is what I found.
Terry
Skydiver death is site's 6th in a year
Local, federal probes under way
By H. Gregory Meyer and Maurice Possley
Tribune staff reporters
July 16, 2002
Local and federal authorities are investigating the death Sunday of a
skydiver near Ottawa, the sixth fatality at the Skydive Chicago club in
just over a year.
Ronald Passmore Jr., 33, a part-time instructor at the club and the father
of four daughters, was killed as he attempted a water landing in a small
pond, LaSalle County Sheriff Tom Templeton said.
In what is called "pond-swooping," friends said Passmore had steered his
high-performance parachute in an attempt to skim across the surface like a
water skier.
"From my understanding, he hit the water hard," Templeton said. "Apparently
he did not go in feet first but body first, and he sank into the pond."
He was pronounced dead at Ottawa Community Hospital.
Passmore's death is the sixth at the drop zone since July 9, 2001, and is
the second this year, LaSalle County Coroner Jody Bernard said.
Nationally, about 30 skydivers are killed out of more than 3 million jumps
each year, according to the U.S. Parachute Association, the sports
governing body. Since 1993, Skydive Chicago has had 13 fatal accidents,
records show.
The drop zone is operated by Roger Nelson, a former world champion
skydiver, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1987 after pleading
guilty to running an international drug smuggling ring.
Nelson could not be reached for comment Monday.
The sheriff called Passmore's death an accident, but the official cause
will not be determined until a coroner's inquest is held, Bernard said. It
will take about two weeks until toxicology tests for drugs and alcohol are
completed, she said.
The other five fatalities since last July were all accidents, Bernard said.
Drugs were found in the system of one of the skydivers, she said.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees backup parachutes and
planes in the lightly regulated skydiving industry, is investigating, said
spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory. LaSalle County sheriff's officials are
interviewing witnesses, Templeton said.
Passmore, who friends said had logged more than 1,500 jumps, had been
living at the drop zone for the last two months, the sheriff said. He had
most recently lived in Butler, Ind., near Ft. Wayne.
Passmore is the second instructor to die this year at Skydive Chicago. On
May 18, John Faulkner, 28, collided in midair with another jumper,
rendering him unconscious, and his backup chute failed despite being
equipped with a device to open it automatically, Bernard said.
The automatic opener has been sent to its German manufacturer for
examination, Bernard said. It may have been damaged in the collision, she
said.
On Oct. 6 two jumpers died when their parachutes became entwined. Eight
days later, a skydiver died after his primary chute did not open and
another chute opened too late, authorities said. The other death occurred
on July 9, 2001.
Skydive Chicago is listed as a large skydiving center based on the number
and size of its planes, said Betsy McStay, the associate director for group
membership of the U.S. Parachute Association. It is one of the Midwest's
busiest drop zones, logging about 75,000 jumps a year.
Nelson, the Skydive Chicago operator, is one of the association's national
directors. On the day Passmore was killed, the association was wrapping up
a board meeting at the drop zone, which will host the national
championships in September.
Nelson, who was captain of the national champion skydiving team in 1982,
pleaded guilty to federal charges of heading a ring that authorities said
brought millions of dollars in cocaine and marijuana into the Chicago area
from Belize, Colombia, Jamaica and Mexico. Sixteen other defendants were
convicted.
At the time of his sentencing, Scott Mendeloff, who was an assistant U.S.
attorney, said that despite promises to surrender his wealth acquired
through the drug ring, the $1 million that Nelson surrendered was only
about half of his profits. As part of his agreement, Nelson led
investigators to a home near Steamboat Springs, Colo., where they dug up
$250,000 in Kruggerands and 225 pounds of silver coins.
Nelson began skydiving at 16 and became a pilot. In 1981 he opened Skydive
Sandwich Inc., which became one of the country's biggest sky diving
schools. He later opened Air Charter Inc.
A co-defendant implicated Nelson in several drug shipments beginning in
1978, including one 550-kilogram load of cocaine that Nelson flew into the
U.S. in 1983.
Passmore's former wife, Christine, broke the news of his death to their
four daughters, who live with her in Butler. She said his passion for the
sport led to their divorce.
"When he first got into it, I begged him, `Please quit, it'll kill you,'"
she said. "He was extreme. You couldn't slow that guy down."
Copyright Š 2002, Chicago Tribune
Tandmterry
>http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020715/ap_on_re_us/skydi
>ving_death_1
>
July 16, 2002
Copyright © 2002, Chicago Tribune
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dusty
Nelson. I have had discussions with one of the editors there and he
definitely left me with the impression they had it "in" for Roger Nelson
because he refuses to talk to them, but will communicate with other
newspapers. I tried to explain to the editor it may be because Roger feels
they don't write the articles with enough due respect for the jumpers
friends and family. I asked him if he felt they unfairly and insensitively
sensationalized their reporting on skydiving fatalities. He decided to end
our discussion without answering my question. Anybody (except Terry) from
the Chicago area have any insight?
--
Dusty
Mr. Know It All #1
Fancy Lad #13
Delta Airlines Sucks !!!!
Tandmterry
>I have had discussions with one of the editors there and he
>definitely left me with the impression they had it "in" for Roger Nelson
>because he refuses to talk to them,
You mean just like the Ottawa Daily Times? AAHHHH Poor Roger..BAAHHHAAAA!!!!
>I tried to explain to the editor it may be because Roger feels
>they don't write the articles
How long have you been jumping?
>He decided to end
>our discussion without answering my question. Anybody (except Terry) from
>the Chicago area have any insight?
I do have an answer to your question! Lets see who gets it right?
Terry
CRWMike
Michael
D-6139
"Richard M. Smith" wrote:
>
> An fine example of yellow journalism. I'm surprised that the editor would
> release this for print.
>
> --
> Sincerely,
> Richard M. Smith
> (509) 754-0259
> rms...@pobox.com
bigjim
> What statements do you find out of line?
What is out of line is the nonexistant link that the writer of this story
attempts to fabricate between Roger Nelson's former activities in the drug
trade and Ron Passmore' s death on Sunday. At the very least, information
about Roger Nelson's dope dealing and smuggling is irrelevant to the
article.
sitflyr
> Interesting how the Chicago Tribune slants the article towards bashing
Roger
> Nelson. I have had discussions with one of the editors there and he
> definitely left me with the impression they had it "in" for Roger Nelson
> because he refuses to talk to them, but will communicate with other
> newspapers. I tried to explain to the editor it may be because Roger feels
> they don't write the articles with enough due respect for the jumpers
> friends and family. I asked him if he felt they unfairly and insensitively
> sensationalized their reporting on skydiving fatalities. He decided to end
> our discussion without answering my question. Anybody (except Terry) from
> the Chicago area have any insight?
>
> --
> Dusty
>
> Mr. Know It All #1
> Fancy Lad #13
>
> Delta Airlines Sucks !!!!
>
>
to think that a newspaper the size of the Chicago Tribune would "have it in
for" him? One would imagine that they would have bigger fish to fry.
I didn't think that the article bashed Roger Nelson, nor did I find it
sensational.
Julie
CRWMike
Just what are your expectations of newspaper articles?
bigjim
> Just what are your expectations of newspaper articles?
No Expectations
So take me to the airport
And put me on a plane
I got no expectations
To pass through here again - M. Jagger/K. Richards
Dusty
like a fiefdom. I might find it difficult to believe an entire newspaper had
it out for Roger but the editor I communicated with told me they had a
problem with Roger for the reason I mentioned. Why do you find that so hard
to believe?
I think the article was about a skydiver dying and I fail to see how Rogers
drug dealing past has anything to do with a fellow skydivers death.
--
Dusty
Mr. Know It All #1
Fancy Lad #13
Delta Airlines Sucks !!!!
"sitflyr" <sit...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:ah297...@enews1.newsguy.com...
Peanut4040
>attempts to fabricate between Roger Nelson's former activities in the drug
>trade and Ron Passmore' s death on Sunday. At the very least, information
>about Roger Nelson's dope dealing and smuggling is irrelevant to the
>article.
>
>
in case nobody is in touch with reality anymore: IF you aint noticed---roger
and mikey, both,,, dont do chit anymore,, THEY ARE BORINGGGGGG--- so boring
they make me sickkkk--- they completely legal--
AND duahhh aaaahhh The press is bored like we are, and they wanna "story"..
Be skydivers,,, LAUGH "at" the stupid press.... not with them
Peanut4040
>to think that a newspaper the size of the Chicago Tribune would "have it in
>for" him?
laughing,, we are ALL small people-- and sometimes press gets bored.
you would think in your area that he is small potatoes-- and yes he is also in
ours, but when the press gets bored, they have to "sell" just like we all do in
our jobs
Iffin you wannna be famous,, then you take the good with the bad, as roger is
taking now.
frankly,, Infamous and short term is beter in my opinion, heheheeeheh
Peanut4040
>You mean just like the Ottawa Daily Times? AAHHHH Poor Roger..BAAHHHAAAA!!!!
>
fuck ewe tery,, one of these days, we gonna drink enough beer and tequila
together that i might be able to turn you into a roger diciple
Peanut4040
> Ronald Passmore Jr. of Butler, Ind., was jumping with Skydive Chicago
>on Sunday afternoon when he tried to land in a pond but struck the water too
>hard, LaSalle County Coroner Jody Bernard said
,, plese dont hook turn,, and now-- no lift lines for casa rides-- tear
this is OUR family-- PUCK the newseys
sitflyr
> No I don't find it far fetched because each editor operates his Division
> like a fiefdom. I might find it difficult to believe an entire newspaper
had
> it out for Roger but the editor I communicated with told me they had a
> problem with Roger for the reason I mentioned. Why do you find that so
hard
> to believe?
Considering it a problem that he refuses to give them an interview is a
different thing from having it out for him.
> I think the article was about a skydiver dying and I fail to see how
Rogers
> drug dealing past has anything to do with a fellow skydivers death.
>
His past has nothing to do with what happened to this skydiver. However, I
don't see it as out of the ordinary that it was included in the article.
Reporters do that all the time because they think it makes their stories
more interesting. Besides, the background information included some of
Roger Nelson's accomplishments. It just didn't strike me as bashing.
This was a fellow skydiver's death to us, but to the reporter and his
editor, it's probably just a story.
Julie
Bob Johnson
high-performance parachutes lined up their approach to a tiny swimming pond
late last Sunday afternoon at Skydive Chicago.
They were "pond swooping," a crowd-pleasing stunt where a skydiver skims
across the water, much like a water-skier, and then walks ashore. There was
little room for error, with a dock jutting into the water on one side, a
swimming platform in the center and trees all around.
The first two made it, but Ronald Passmore Jr., 33, a skydiver with more
than 1,300 jumps, was in trouble. He made a dangerous low turn, slammed the
water chest first and was killed.
Passmore's death, the sixth at Skydive Chicago in the past 12 months, is a
graphic example of not only the inherent dangers of an increasingly popular
and loosely regulated sport, but also the difficulty that skydiving
operators face in policing the participants.
Some critics say Skydive Chicago's fatality rate in 12 months--eight times
higher than the national average--suggests an atmosphere that fails to
adequately emphasize safety. Since 1993, 13 skydiving deaths have occurred
at Skydive Chicago, which is run by Roger Nelson.
At the same time, skydivers, pilots and air traffic controllers report that
skydiving operations in the busy flight route into O'Hare International and
Midway Airports have caused near collisions between commercial jets and the
jump planes disgorging divers into dense cloudbanks.
"Skydiving in Chicago is an accident waiting to happen," one pilot declared
in a report to federal authorities of a near miss in 2000.
After Passmore's death, Nelson said he banned "pond swooping" at the busy
drop zone here. And Chris Needels, the executive director of United States
Parachute Association who witnessed the accident, said it should never have
been allowed because of the pond's size and design.
According to the association, the sport's governing body, more than 350,000
people make about 3.3 million jumps a year with an annual average of 30
fatalities per year over the past decade. The rate of student fatalities is
even lower, the association reports.
In the five other fatal accidents since July 9, 2001, at Skydive Chicago,
two deaths occurred when divers' parachutes became entangled 100 feet above
the ground. Another diver was killed during free fall--the period before a
parachute is opened--in a 120 m.p.h. mid-air collision with another
skydiver, who survived. A woman died when her main and reserve parachutes
became entangled after being deployed at a low altitude. Another skydiver
was killed when his parachute malfunctioned. An autopsy revealed the
presence of cocaine, marijuana and Ecstasy in his body.
In an interview last week, Nelson, 46, a world champion skydiver with more
than 9,000 jumps, called the facility "the premier center in the world,"
saying his facilities, equipment, instructors and safety precautions "are
second to none."
The drop zone, located about 80 miles southwest of Chicago, will be the site
of the U.S. national championships in September.
"It is very sad and disturbing to me that people have died here," Nelson
said. "One is too many. I do everything possible to personally keep that
situation from occurring."
"Unfortunately, we attract people from around the world because this is the
destination and we have people with different training," Nelson said. "And
quite frankly, I have to say the training in the sport is not perfect. It is
not consistent.
"These people dying are experienced people pushing the envelope. What
happened to Ron, I had no knowledge of. Pond-swooping is ... very difficult
and it is for trained professionals."
Commercial pilots' fears
Not only skydivers are at risk. Commercial pilots have reported near misses
with skydivers in freefall and jump planes over the four drop zones that
ring Chicago. Skydiving groups also are based in Kankakee, Hinckley and
Morris.
At least three times since 1993, pilots have reported near misses in the
southwest approach paths to Midway and O'Hare, records show. In August 1993,
a pilot reported being forced into a quick descent to avoid a plane
"involved in parachute jumping at Ottawa Airport," according to a copy of
the report obtained by the Tribune. At the time, Nelson's operations were
based at that airport, but it is unclear if the incident involved his plane.
Two years ago, a commercial jet pilot who took evasive action to avoid a
collision stated in his report: "Why do parachute jumpers have to ply their
trade [in a path] to the busiest airport in the world?"
Last September, a Boeing 737 pilot reported a near miss, saying, "It was
very close ... I estimate less than 100 feet vertical and 500 feet
horizontal"--just seconds away from a collision, aviation officials say.
"Jumpers from Skydive Chicago are in the absolute worst place to be," said
Bryan Zilonis, a veteran air-traffic controller at the FAA's Chicago Center
facility in Aurora. He said the club's jump aircraft climb directly into the
middle of the busy arrival corridor. In the club's jump zone, commercial
aircraft approaching O'Hare are descending to 11,000 feet and planes bound
for Midway are in the 6,000-foot range, Zilonis said. He said the jumpers
bail out of their aircraft at altitudes of 10,000 to 14,000 feet.
Zilonis said the increasing number of skydivers adds to the workload,
sometimes fraying controllers' nerves. But under FAA rules, skydivers "have
just as much right to the airspace as anyone else."
"All we can do is call out [the presence of other] traffic to them and hope
that the planes and jumpers are not really as close to each other as they
appear on our radar scopes."
In 1999 the National Transportation Safety Board recommended tracking
parachute accidents to monitor drop zone safety, but the Federal Aviation
Administration withdrew the proposal after U.S. Parachute Association
lobbying, according to federal records and interviews.
At the time, the FAA said it lacked the resources to track such incidents
and noted that the requirement would impose "a significant paperwork burden"
on skydiving operators.
Under the parachute association's rules, complaints about drop-zone safety
violations are heard by the association's regional directors, who may order
an inquiry and recommend censure or expulsion from the association. Gary
Peek, regional director for Illinois for the past three years, said he has
never ordered an inquiry. He said he dismissed the lone complaint he
received about Skydive Chicago because it was not credible.
Nelson said that about a fourth of the 75,000 jumps annually at Skydive
Chicago are tandem jumps made by students with an instructor physically
buckled to their backs.
First-time jumpers pay $159 to $189. After a second jump, a skydiver can
purchase a 17-jump package for $1,800. After 20 jumps, a skydiving license
is issued. From then on, jumps can cost $20 each or less for skydivers with
their own equipment.
Few lawsuits, no winners
Only a handful of suits have been filed and none has been successful. Nelson
said jumpers sign a four-page liability release. First-time divers watch a
video that repeatedly states that skydiving can be fatal.
Terry Murray, a high-ranking employee at Skydive Chicago until 1998,
contends that Nelson allows skydivers to jump through clouds and in bad
weather--a dangerous action forbidden by the FAA.
"He's pushing for the almighty dollar," said Murray, who now drives a truck.
"He puts students up in unsafe conditions--jumping through solid and low
layers of clouds, in high winds. You can't see what's below. There were
times when jumpers went out at 13,000 feet and didn't see the ground until
at 900 feet."
Murray recalled a time several years ago when he and Nelson jumped in tandem
with two students into heavy clouds and because of winds and poor visibility
wound up more than 12 miles from the drop zone. "We hitchhiked back to the
airport," Murray said.
He said Nelson's philosophy was, "Let them jump--we need the loads."
Nelson disputes Murray's allegations, calling them the "lies of a deranged
man."
"We do not jump in clouds," he said. At the same time, he said student
income is crucial to his business. "I have loans and mortgages up to the
hilt and I need every day of income to make this thing go," he said.
Karen Kirby-Hall, a nurse from Oak Park, learned to skydive at Nelson's
facility in 1998 and has jumped more than 150 times. "I jumped through
clouds as a student," she said.
She and other skydivers characterize Nelson as a charismatic, aggressive
skydiver who pushes his students too quickly to advance to more difficult
maneuvers and high-performance equipment.
Others disagree.
Donovan Bartlett, an instructor at Skydive Chicago whose fiance was one of
the skydivers who died last year, said, "I have seen Roger ... pull people
aside and tell them they are doing something dangerous. Safety is the
foremost concern here."
Nelson also disputes allegations of unsafe conditions or the existence of a
"cowboy" mentality at the facility, saying he fires instructors and bans or
grounds jumpers who engage in dangerous activities.
"But I cannot control human error," he said. "Once they leave that airplane,
there is nothing that I can do to stop them or save them."