SStewart 13 #1 January 21, 2010 Some things change and some things don't. Maybe the DB Cooper nuts should take a closer look Illegal flight lands pilot in trouble once again By Karen McCowan The Register-Guard Appeared in print: Wednesday, Jan 20, 2010 ________________________________________ A 74-year-old Sheridan man with a decades-long history of defying federal aviation rules just can’t seem to stay out of the cockpit. Teddy Ernest Mayfield was sentenced Tuesday for flying a single-engine plane from Eugene Airport to the Independence airport in June 2008 — 26 years after the Federal Aviation Administration last revoked his pilot’s license. U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan ordered Mayfield to pay a $2,000 fine, placed him on three years’ probation and forbade him to “operate, construct or repair aviation equipment” without his probation officer’s permission. Mayfield was sentenced in 1994 to 41/2 months in federal prison for repeatedly flying without a license, court records show. He also was sentenced in 1995 to five months in state prison for criminally negligent homicide in the deaths of two customers of his former skydiving school. FAA investigators blamed his faulty packing of parachutes in those deaths. Mayfield fell off the agency’s radar screen for more than a decade after the latter conviction, becoming a Sheridan city councilor and Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year. But he again captured FAA attention by taking off from the Eugene Airport on June 13, 2008, without communicating with — or getting clearance from — air traffic controllers. He initially suggested to investigators that another pilot with him was flying the plane, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney William “Bud” Fitzgerald. But the FAA determined that the other pilot was at work in Corvallis at the time of the illegal take-off, according to a sentencing memo by Fitzgerald. And in a letter to Hogan this month, Mayfield said he took “full responsibility for my irresponsible act of flying the airplane from Eugene to Independence. I knew better and I should not have done it.” Mayfield also wrote that airplanes “have always been my life and only source of income. Since I closed my skydiving business in 1994, I turned to restoring and brokering small airplanes. Doing this does not require me to fly the airplanes.” In a defense sentencing memo, attorney Steven Myers told Hogan that his client attempted to contact the Eugene control tower for permission to take off using “light signals” because his plane’s battery could not power its radio. He said Mayfield “erroneously assumed” he’d been given permission to take off. Fitzgerald noted that Mayfield first had his license to fly revoked while still a student pilot in 1967, for illegally carrying a passenger during a flight. He went on to obtain a commercial pilot’s license in 1972 and to open Pacific Parachute Center in Sheridan. But the FAA again revoked Mayfield’s license in 1982 for violations that included failing to disclose his criminal history on a prerequisite medical certificate application. Though his license was never reinstated, Mayfield continued to fly planes and flout court orders not to do so, leading to his May 1994 federal prison sentence. That same year, the FAA revoked Mayfield’s parachute rigger certificate after the agency faulted his failure to properly pack and maintain two parachutes involved in skydiving fatalities. In 1995, he pleaded guilty in Yamhill County Circuit Court to two counts of criminally negligent homicide in the 1993 death of veteran skydiver Charles Schaefer, 33, and the 1994 death of novice jumper Lee Perry Sr., 85. Both died when their chutes failed to open. They were among 13 people who died in Pacific Parachute Center jumps. An FAA spokeswoman said in 1994 that most of the deaths occurred after parachutes malfunctioned. The U.S. Parachute Association suspended Mayfield as an affiliate instructor in 1994 as a result of the FAA investigation. In an interview then, Mayfield blamed his suspension on FAA harassment over what he called his 20-year battle over the agency’s medical certification requirement. He said the 13 deaths bothered him, but noted that his skydiving operation trained 2,500 people a year. He was sentenced to five months in jail and three years of probation for the homicides, Fitzgerald said, but violated that probation by building an ultralight aircraft without the court’s permission. But the prosecutor joined Myers in recommending probation rather than prison for the Eugene offense, saying FAA officials agreed it was an appropriate penalty for the latest offense. Myers noted that the Eugene incident came 15 years after Mayfield’s previous aviation-related conviction. He noted that his client had strictly complied with terms of his pretrial release, and has a 35-year history of community service in Sheridan.Onward and Upward! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 5 #2 January 21, 2010 Already noted in another thread here. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 34 #3 January 21, 2010 Quote He said the 13 deaths bothered him, but noted that his skydiving operation trained 2,500 people a year. 2500 people a year? That comes out to 48 jumpers a weekend. I would be shocked if Skydive Arizona or Perris Valley averaged that much a week! "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SStewart 13 #4 January 21, 2010 Quote2500 people a year? That comes out to 48 jumpers a weekend. I would be shocked if Skydive Arizona or Perris Valley averaged that much a week! 1st timers only I think, that certainly does not include experienced jumpers. 48 students a week back in the '80s at a cessna DZ was considered busy. VERY busy! Remember all static line, no AFF, and tandem was still a new idea that was considered a bit weird at the time. Also, there was no such thing as Skydive Arizona.Onward and Upward! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skypuppy 1 #5 January 21, 2010 Hell, in the 80's Parachute School of Toronto in Arthur Ontario would get 70+ students/day on weekends during the summer. Some weekends they would train 200 static-line jumpers! These are really not that unusual numbers even up here -- there are several dz's in Canada that would do 2000-3000 students/year....If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead. Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve1 5 #6 January 21, 2010 Quote These are really not that unusual numbers even up here -- there are several dz's in Canada that would do 2000-3000 students/year.... I've noticed that too. I know one D.Z. in Canada that trains a ton of students using pilot chute assist. It reminded me of the 70's when there were large classes of first jump students on static line. I wonder if the higher cost of accellerated freefall, fewer static line drop zones, and higher liability costs are some causes of this in the states... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
