Dirty Laundry aired in z-hills

[AndyMan 7]

Lots of dirty laundry suddenly got aired in Z-Hills.

Accusations of Fraud, Unsafe operations, Violating FAR's - the whole shebang.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jun/01/accusations-fly-between-skydive-city-vendor/news-breaking/

_Am

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You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[FrEaK_aCcIdEnT 0]

wow...

Looks like this one could get messier than it already is. Dirty laundry indeed

ExPeCt ThE uNeXpEcTeD!
DoNt MiNd ThE tYpOs, Im LaZy On CoRrEcTiOnS!

[Andy9o8 0]

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the whole shebang.

The whole shebang is that there are two sides to the story, no?

[JohnRich 4]

Skydivers suing other skydivers out of business. How nice.

[FrEaK_aCcIdEnT 0]

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the whole shebang.

The whole shebang is that there are two sides to the story, no?

correction...

3 sides-rememebr? Side A, Side B, and the "COMPLETE" truth.

ExPeCt ThE uNeXpEcTeD!
DoNt MiNd ThE tYpOs, Im LaZy On CoRrEcTiOnS!

[kimemerson 7]

Does anyone really believe Nancy Koreen said she's "dropped" at z-hills?

[mdrejhon 8]

Guy Wright had Z-Team 80 ways to Skydive Air Adventures at Clewistown, instead of Deland, due to some "paperwork" issue relating to the airplanes. This is probably the same thing...

[grimmie 173]

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Skydivers suing other skydivers out of business. How nice.

Like skyride and other cases?
Skydivers are also in business with each other and don't always hug and kiss during a business relationship.

[JohnMitchell 14]

Although I'm an outsider and don't know all the facts, it sounds like Freefall Express is assuming a monopoly when nothing could be further from the truth. I doubt if the city would force TK to use Freefall Express's A/C. That would hardly be free enterprise.

[Mountainsky1 0]

Hey I have an idea.

How about starting another dropzone next door.

We will put guards at the fence to berate whom ever is going back and forth jumping with thier friends.

Again History repeats itself

We never learn!!!!!!!

[muff528 3]

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Hey I have an idea.

How about starting another dropzone next door.

We will put guards at the fence to berate whom ever is going back and forth jumping with thier friends.

Again History repeats itself

We never learn!!!!!!!

Somewhere I still have one of those old Caledonia Graphics Tshirts -- "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times". It really was!

[Mountainsky1 0]

AMEN!!!

[davelepka 4]

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it sounds like Freefall Express is assuming a monopoly when nothing could be further from the truth.

It sounds to me like Freefall Express is full of shit. Richards uses the incident with the book keeper stealing all that money as proof that TK is mis-managing the DZ, meanwhile Billy was a 32% shareholder in Z-hills all along but doesn't do squat about it until they want to stop flying his planes. He could have sold his share, or pulled his planes if he really thought the DZ was in trouble. Bringing it up now hardly seems like a valid point.

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find out that the slow economy has created a 'bidding war' among the various fleet owners, and somebody rolled up with a much better deal than Freefall Express. Maybe Billy thought that owning 1/3 of the DZ, and 20 years of history would insulate him from being undercut, but money is money, and like I said, slow economy.

There's no way he'll get the city to intervene. All of his claims are surrounding the DZ ops, not the AC ops, which will be handled by an outside vendor. As long as Spaceland, or those CSC guys, or whoever it is that got the business are on the up and up, the city won't shut them out.

Either way I like the part about the Freefall Express otters still being parked in the hanger and the loading area. What do you do, call a tow truck? Haul them to the impound lot? Put one of the 'boots' on the wheel until they pay their parking tickets?

[jsreznor 0]

So far as I understand it, from multiple sources, the way it went down was something like this.

Joanie and the other owner didn't like the cut they were giving to Billy for use of the aircraft, so they decided to lower it without consulting him. As 2/3 ownership beats his 1/3, that's what happened. So Billy says F.U., I'm not letting you use my planes nor my pilots. So they go to Deland and now pay more for Deland's planes, pilots, and all the maintenance that Billy provided. This is, of course, after TK makes the decision to fly jumpers himself and gets busted for it.

As for the embezzlement, you can't really deny what happened, and it happened under TK's watch as the DZM. While he's a really nice guy, there are just more and more of these instances where he makes bad decisions, so I can understand both sides of this disagreement.

It'll be interesting to see what happens. Skydive City as an enterprise is basically dead now. Three of the four otters are at the Ranch, and the 4th one was in pieces the last time I saw it. SDC is still paying their main competition, Deland, for airplanes.

Stay tuned folks. More popcorn is coming!

[DSE 3]

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Does anyone really believe Nancy Koreen said she's "dropped" at z-hills?

I believe it's possible, yes. But it sounds very strange.

[mirage62 0]

Is TK one of the owners?

Kevin Keenan is my hero, a double FUP, he does so much with so little

[AndyMan 7]

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As for the embezzlement, you can't really deny what happened, and it happened under TK's watch as the DZM. While he's a really nice guy, there are just more and more of these instances where he makes bad decisions, so I can understand both sides of this disagreement.

In his defense, embezzlement by your accountant is one of the most difficult crimes to detect. There are not many business owners or managers who would detect it until it's too late. There's a reason CPA certification is so strict. Typically the damage is discovered when the accountant goes on vacation, and that's exactly what happened here, from what I understand.

What really bothers me here is flying without appropriate ratings. Talk about poor judgment!

Also, Billy taking his conflict into the courts is extreme bad form, and will benefit nobody except the attorneys. If the article, and what I've heard is true, it's really petty. I certainly would not want to go into business with the man.

Still, the popcorn does make it entertaining!

_Am

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You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[BlueSBDeath 2]

"As the Prop Turns..................."

Same S**T different DZ

BSBD...........Its all about Respect,

USPA#-7062, FB-2197, Outlaw 499

[AndyMan 7]

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In his defense, embezzlement by your accountant is one of the most difficult crimes to detect. There are not many business owners or managers who would detect it until it's too late. There's a reason CPA certification is so strict. Typically the damage is discovered when the accountant goes on vacation, and that's exactly what happened here, from what I understand.

A little bird tells me the embezzler was not an accountant, but rather a manifest employee who managed to steal $140,000 in small increments over time. Amazing.

_Am

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You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[JohnRich 4]

Here is what bothers me the most about all this.

TK is someone who we skydivers trust to look out for our safety and to do the right thing. But he made a very poor decision and decided to fly jumpers, despite not having the proper credentials for that type of aircraft. He had jumpers waiting for loads, but no pilot. He put profit over safety. There's a reason for that FAA rule, because you shouldn't be flying passengers in a type of aircraft until you have sufficient experience in that aircraft to know how to provide for their safety. TK put all those jumpers at risk by flying them with insufficient experience in that type of aircraft. We put our faith in him to do the right things to keep us safe, and he violated that trust. Maybe some people think it's just a technicality, but it's also the law, and the law is there for a good reason.

The FAA will probably cancel his license for a while. The skydivers there at Z-hills who were flown by TK without the proper credentials, should condemn him for his actions.

And now the biggest problem is; how can he re-gain the trust of his jumpers? Once he's put profit over safety once, how do we know he won't do it again? How do we know he hasn't done it other times in the past, maybe with other things, like aircraft maintenance?

Yes, TK's a nice guy. Everyone likes him. But he's screwed up, big time. Penance must be paid.

I hope that Z-hills and TK can overcome these problems, and return to being a fun, safe place for all of us to skydive, and where we can trust management to do the right things to keep us safe.

[likestojump 3]

Let's not confuse experience with credentials. He may have had all the requirements, and hundreds of hours, but no check ride. Or not..

Having never met/talked with TK this is as objective as my opinion gets.

Illegal ? Sure
Unsafe ? not enough information to know.

[billvon 2,397]

>He put profit over safety.

Or the desires of jumpers over legality. One or the other.

[AndyMan 7]

I'm not yet organizing the mob for TK because of the FAA bust, only because the article is a little unclear. It says he does not have a Commercial rating for his single Cessna, but does have one for twin engines. That sounds to me like a type-rating issue. If he's commercial rated in a Twin-Otter, I can't imagine he's all that unsafe in a 182. I'm not a pilot so I don't know the legalities, but it does seem not as bad as your joe-average private pilot with 50 hours.

I'm sure the FAA will be unsympathetic, and with good cause.

_Am

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You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[Squeak 17]

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And now the biggest problem is; how can he re-gain the trust of his jumpers? Once he's put profit over safety once, how do we know he won't do it again?

He's got my trust right now, and if i had been one of the jumers he flew with out appropriate papers that would not change one bit.


I would not board a plane with a piulot i dont trust regardless of paperwork.

People need to HTFU and jump;

you pay ya monies ya take ya chances.

Next time I'm in Zhills I'll ask TK to fly me in somthing he not comercially rated for

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[robinheid 0]

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>He put profit over safety.

Or the desires of jumpers over legality. One or the other.

+1

SCR-6933 / SCS-3463 / D-5533 / BASE 44 / CCS-37 / 82d Airborne (Ret.)

"The beginning of wisdom is to first call things by their right names."