Can you say, Prick?

[relyon 0]

Jessie Farrington is the USPA NW regional director.

Bob

[diverdriver 5]

Yah I know. I flew with Geoff Farrington on the 300-way. People keep saying that the USPA should jump in here to help. I just asked if anyone has called the USPA. I imagine the Ferringtons will know whether they want any more help from USPA HQ.

Chris

[Guest]

Quote

Yah I know. I flew with Geoff Farrington on the 300-way. People keep saying that the USPA should jump in here to help. I just asked if anyone has called the USPA. I imagine the Ferringtons will know whether they want any more help from USPA HQ.

Chris

Jesse told me yesterday that Needels is aware of the situation. Whether USPA can do anything about it is another matter.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[Guest]

Here is the email I sent to the Eye-Witless News flack:

Mr. Halsne,

Having viewed your story about Kapowsin last night, I
thought it might be appropriate to refute the
allegations raised by it.

My name is Mark Harju, and I'm the secretary and
webmaster for Seattle Skydivers, Inc., based in
Snohomish, WA. I'm also a freelance stringer for
Skydiving Magazine based in Deland, FL, and I've been
covering the Northwest beat for about three years now.
Kapowsin is not my "home dropzone".

My remarks are based upon the transcript at --

http://www.kirotv.com/news/1987660/detail.html

First, regarding Kyle Robinson. Kyle wasn't a
"student". He was a licensed skydiver.

Despite being warned not to, Kyle Robinson knowingly
risked flying a small canopy with a reputation for
being difficult and dangerous to handle. He lost
control of it and died in a bad landing. To imply that
Kapowsin Air Sports or the Farrington family is
somehow to blame for Robinson's death is
irresponsible.

Allegation (implied): that Kapowsin Air Sports was
responsible for Kyle Robinson's death.

Fact: Every skydiver, from day one, is told that he is
responsible for himself. Every skydiver signs a
lengthy waiver which acknowledges this. Robinson
shouldn't have been flying that canopy, and he was
warned not to, but it wasn't the dropzone's
responsibility to "police" Robinson's conduct. It was
his decision to make, his risk to take. It's the same
decision process that every skydiver makes on every
jump, and the same process that every motorcyclist
makes on each ride. Usually, the outcome is safe and
enjoyable. Sometimes, however, a poor decision (e.g.,
flying a small and dangerous canopy without the
requisite experience) leads to danger, resulting in
injury or death. Robinson chose not to heed the
warnings of those who knew better.

Second, the "four times the norm" claim.

"Based on statistics from the US Parachute
Association, the Kapowsin jump school's death rate is
nearly four times the national average since Kyle's
death."

This is a sensational claim, but it has only partial
statistical accuracy.

According to the US Parachute Association, there is
approximately one fatality per 100,000 skydives.

Kapowsin claims approximately 20,000 skydives per year
take place at their facility. Kapowsin has had four
fatalities in the last eight years (20,000 jumps / yr
x 8 = 160,000 jumps). Given the raw numbers (which are
most likely on the conservative side - during the
summer, jumpers at Kapowsin can make a thousand
skydives in a single weekend), this means that
Kapowsin should have only had 1.6 fatalities, but has
had four.

Death # 1 (Robinson, 1995) - Experienced (not
"student") skydiver died in bad landing. Cause: Pilot
Error discussed above.

Death # 2 (Tandem Master, 1998) - Student reached up
unexpectedly and pulled the emergency canopy release
handle before the tandem master could stop her. The
pair landed under a spinning reserve, causing the
Tandem Master's death. Cause: unforseen and
unpreventable student action.

Death # 3: (Tandem Student, 1998) - On approaching for
landing, tandem canopy entered thermal-shift area
(low-altitude wind shear) inducing partial canopy
collapse, resulting in death of student. Cause:
unforseen weather anomaly occurring under unusual
temperature conditions.

Death # 4: (2000) - Highly experienced canopy pilot
failed to land properly. Cause: Pilot error.

Allegation (implied): that Kapowsin's "student" death
rate (implied by referring to Kapowsin as a "skydiving
school") is "four times the norm".

Fact: There have been four deaths in eight years at
Kapowsin, but only one of these has been a student.
One was a Tandem Master (instructor), and the other
two were experienced, licensed skydivers, responsible
for themselves and their own actions. Taken in this
context, the statistical norm of one fatality per
100,000 skydives is valid.

As for the video of the "near-collision on the
runway", there was no effort made to show who had the
right of way. In a case where there is a conflict,
however, who should yield? The single-engine Cessna
pilot (who, conveniently, has a video camera on
wide-angle), or the pilot of the twenty-ton twin
turboprop with 600 gallons of jet fuel and 23 souls on
board???

Third: "Commercial pilot Jeff Dow says he has
witnessed firsthand dozens of unsafe incidents at
Kapowsin Air Sports."

Allegation: Kapowsin is "unsafe"

Fact: This allegation is based solely on the
unsubstatiated claims of ONE individual (Jeff Dow),
who has been harassing skydivers at Kapowsin for
years, trying to spot the slightest appearance of
impropriety in all areas (including civil), so that he
can run to government authorities with his childish
complaints. These have resulted in the Farringtons
being forced to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in
County court, purchasing a liquor license (despite the
fact that they neither serve nor sell lquor of any
kind), and other nuisances. Imagine if you were mowing
your lawn one day, then stopped to have a beer, and
your neighbor called the Sheriff to report that you
were outdoors with an open container of alcohol. This
is the kind of petty harassment that Dow has been
visiting on Kapowsin Air Sports.

Fourth: "When they drop in front of you, it's nothing
more than a collision hazard, like someone jaywalking.
You might get away with it a few times, but sooner or
later, they're going to get hit," Dow said."

Allegation: That Kapowsin is violating FARs (Federal
Aviation Regulations) by dropping skydivers in front
of other pilots.

According to Jesse Farrington, Seattle Center (the FAA
control center) had given her airplane clearance to
drop skydivers, and that the pilot announced "jumpers
away" over the common frequency. The sectional
(aviation chart) for Kapowsin has a symbol of a
parachute and the remark "skydiving operations during
all daylight hours". Farrington alleges that Dow
waited in a holding pattern some distance away from
the airfield. Then upon hearing that skydiving
operations were in progress, deliberately flew into
the pattern for the express purpose of showing
"skydivers filling my windscreen". Farrington's pilot
filed a report over this incident, which according to
Farrington was dismissed as "lies" by FAA investigator
David Lehman.

Fact: The short version is that --

1. The airspace is shared
2. The sectional says so
3. The drop plane had clearance from Seattle Center
4. The jump plane announced "Jumpers away" as
required.
5. Dow violated the pattern


Fifth: "Parachute jump schools are typically
underinsured and underregulated....The Federal
Aviation Administration has limited oversight."

This allegation makes no effort to state what in your
opinion constitutes a sufficient amount of insurance
or regulation.

Fact: All skydivers fill out extensive "hold harmless"
waivers, and the US Parachute Association provides
third-party insurance (in case somebody dents a car,
etc. on landing). Skydiving being what it is, no
amount of insurance can cover all circumstances.

Fact: Dropzones are subject to Federal Regulations (14
CFR 91.307 and 14 CFR 105), covering such things as
skydive operations, qualifications and rules for
pilots, safety requirements for parachutes, etc. In
short, there is plenty of regulation of skydiving,
because general aviation (GA) is involved in it, and
General Aviation is among the most heavily
government-regulated activities in existence.

---------------

Chris, you've spent plenty of time with Jeff Dow and
heard his whining; why don't you go to a dropzone and
spend some time there, talking to skydivers, maybe
making a jump yourself? It might help bring balance to
a story that appears to have a lot of sensationalistic
bias. If having read all this, you'd like to discuss
it with me further, please email.

Respectfully,

Mark A. Harju
Secretary and Webmaster,
Seattle Skydivers, Inc.

http://www.seattleskydivers.org

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[Shark 0]

Well thought out and written...
Any reply?

[AggieDave 6]

When dealing with Whuffos, never use the word "Waiver" since actually "waivering" rights is illegal. It is an "assumption of risk agreement."

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[diverdriver 5]

Good job Mark. I hope your efforts will be noticed by that TV station. I also hope the FAA goes after this joker for his antics and puts him in his place.

Chris Schindler
www.diverdriver.com
ATP/D-19012
FB #4125

[Guest]

Quote

When dealing with Whuffos, never use the word "Waiver" since actually "waivering" rights is illegal. It is an "assumption of risk agreement."

Oops...my bad...

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[Michele 1]

Well done, Mark!

Now, if only his interest in a fair story would win out and he goes and talks to the folks at K-pow.

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[Guest]

Quote

Good job Mark. I hope your efforts will be noticed by that TV station. I also hope the FAA goes after this joker for his antics and puts him in his place.

Thanks!

I doubt the station will pay any attention, and I wish the FAA would act properly, but the FSDO puke (David Lehman) called Jesse's pilot a liar and alleged that he falsified the report about this incident. Jesse is now trying to get somebody above Lehman to take an objective look at this mess.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[Guest]

Not yet.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[hooked 0]

Very well written letter. I too sent an email to the reporter and the station. Neither one was as well written however, than yours. I don't expect a reply....why should they, the story is old news. If they do any story other than what they showed, it would make them look bad, and they aren't going to do that. Maybe one of the other stations might be interested?

J

--------------------------------------
Sometimes we're just being Humans.....But we're always Human Beings.

[Guest]

Quote

Well done, Mark!

Now, if only his interest in a fair story would win out and he goes and talks to the folks at K-pow.

Ciels-
Michele

Thanks!

I don't think the "Eye-Witless News" flack has any concern about balance. Sensationalism is the most important thing. After all, this is television!

Further, I speculate that he's working as a flack in a TV station's "news" department because he couldn't land a real reporting job after he got out of journalism school, if he ever attended it in the first place, which I doubt.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[Guest]

Quote

Very well written letter. I too sent an email to the reporter and the station. Neither one was as well written however, than yours. I don't expect a reply....why should they, the story is old news. If they do any story other than what they showed, it would make them look bad, and they aren't going to do that. Maybe one of the other stations might be interested?

J

Thanks for your kind remarks. I don't expect a reply from the station either.

You're right - it's already old news, and other stations won't pick up the story because --

A. It isn't theirs
B. A negative story about another news outlet will never happen. Reporters (like lawyers) might eat their young, but they'll never do it in public...hehehe

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[hooked 0]

Quote

You're right - it's already old news, and other stations won't pick up the story because --

A. It isn't theirs
B. A negative story about another news outlet will never happen. Reporters (like lawyers) might eat their young, but they'll never do it in public...hehehe

True, hadn't thought of that. Maybe one of the other stations would be interested in a 'general interest' story of the troubles being brought?? I'm reaching here. I better quit while I'm ahead.

edit to add--your email letter should be submitted to the editorials in the paper or something!!!!! So the general public has the chance to hear the story.

J

--------------------------------------
Sometimes we're just being Humans.....But we're always Human Beings.

[Guest]

Quote

Quote

You're right - it's already old news, and other stations won't pick up the story because --

A. It isn't theirs
B. A negative story about another news outlet will never happen. Reporters (like lawyers) might eat their young, but they'll never do it in public...hehehe

True, hadn't thought of that. Maybe one of the other stations would be interested in a 'general interest' story of the troubles being brought?? I'm reaching here. I better quit while I'm ahead.

J

Remember the song?

"We can do the innuendo, We can dance and sing
When it's said and done we haven't told you a thing
We all know that crap is king...!"

Meaning that "jeopardy" is as necessary for TV news stories as it is for entertainment features.

If it's dull, it ain't airing.

"If it bleeds, it leads"

Lawdy, I'm glad I don't work in television!


-----------------------------------------
"A typical Great Moment in TV was 9:38 AM July 25, 1974, about eight minutes into "Suncoast Digest," a variety show on WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida, when anchorman Chris Chubbuck, 30, looked straight at the camera and said:

"And now, in keeping with Channel 40's policy of always bringing you the latest in blood and guts in living color, you're about to see another first-- an attempted suicide."
-- whereupon she pulled a gun out of a shopping bag and shot herself, fatally, in the head."

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[happythoughts 0]

I actually saw that. It was the weirdest thing in the world. I was eating breakfast and watching the morning news. The woman put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger. You saw her hair fly up and then she fell. Then the screen went blank. Unbelievable. At the time, I lived in Manatee County which is ch. 40's broadcast area. Odd.

[coho21 0]

Mark,

Nice email. I totally agree with you this is a bunch of BS. They are just starving for ratings right now and think that they can boost their advertising revenue because it's sweeps week. It's a shame that they tried to do it at the expense of great DZ.

Jensen

J
YSD#0009

[MC208B 0]

I just watched the video on the KIRO? website. As a jumper and pilot, I'm wondering what the pattern altitude is for that jerk crybaby. With those jumpers freefalling through the jerks traffic pattern, must be 4,500 feet?!? Usually 6-800 AGL I thought!

[BoobieCootie 0]

Very nice Mark!

And from the news I don't make up dept., a small plane has crashed in Puyallup, killing 2 on board. No details other than this read. As much as it's bad juju to wish bad stuff on others, I hope Jeff "Prick" Dow is one of them. Otherwise, my condolenses.

[brucewayne 0]

Nope, sorry Jeff" dickless" Dow isn't one of them. I saw Jeff @ Kapow yesterday up to the same crap he seems to have dedicated his Miserable existence to. It is really too bad that good people die every day and a bag of shit like this gets to live among the rest of us.

[quade 3]

Hope you two boyz don't believe in Karma, 'cause you're in your next life I think you're going back down a peg.
It's way bad juju to wish for the death of somebody even if he's a prick.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Zenister 0]

i dont know Quade i think the karma for wishing bad things on someone is having someone wish bad things on you ....

he is definitely a prick. took off and landed in about 5 min, for no apparent reason than to see if 'anything occurred' (nothing did and he stayed in his airspace) but damn that was a pretty plane..

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[brettpobastad 0]

FFG

You can follow another discussion on this topic by going to my website at www.thepoopsheet.com

I have contacted KIRO directly several times. The only response I got was that they stand by the story and, no, I cannot reprint it.

Brett Martin

"It's only arrogance if you can't back it up"

[n2skdvn 0]

clicky
--

if my calculations are correct SLINKY + ESCULATOR = EVERLASTING FUN
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