Gday
From Today's Australian
Skydiving firm faces shutdown
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
08 January 2005
A SKYDIVING operator being investigated over the death of British tourist Claire Barnes has been threatened with possible closure after the air safety regulator accused it of posing "a serious and imminent risk" to aviation safety.
Luke McWilliam, who runs Skydive City at Barwon Heads in Victoria, has until January 28 to respond to a "show cause" notice from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, which contains dozens of alleged safety breaches.
The aviation watchdog says in the document that it is investigating whether Mr McWilliam, Skydive City and chief instructor Greg Bayly "have engaged in conduct that constitutes, contributes to or has resulted in a serious and imminent risk to aviation safety".
Mr McWilliam said he intended to answer the allegations, which he claimed were part of a campaign of harassment by "certain individuals" involved in a long-running legal dispute over land.
However, he failed to respond to a list of written questions submitted by The Weekend Australian on Wednesday.
The investigation could result in an order preventing Skydive City from conducting jumps within Australia and/or the reinstatement of a ban on jumps near the Barwon Heads airport.
The show-cause notice also raises issues about the death last March of 24-year-old Barnes, the daughter of British newsreader Carol Barnes and Foreign Office Minister Denis McShane.
An interim report by the Australian Parachute Federation found Barnes fell 4000m to her death after failing to pack her parachute properly.
CASA says in the document that it understands Barnes was issued with a "packer B" rating after a recommendation from a Skydive City employee.
"An important issue arising from the facts and circumstances referred to above is whether Skydive City took the necessary steps to ensure that Ms Barnes was adequately trained before she was issued with a packer B rating and whether sufficient assistance was provided to Ms Barnes to ensure that proper attention was given to her equipment assembly, maintenance and packing," it says.
The new show-cause notice is part of a long-running dispute involving Skydive City that led to a ban on skydiving in the immediate vicinity of Barwon Heads airport last year.
The Federal Court quashed the CASA ban last month when it ruled the skydiving operator had not been given a fair hearing. The court win came after Mr McWilliam was put on a 12-month good behaviour bond and ordered to donate $10,000 to a hospital after pleading guilty in Geelong Court to 21 safety breaches in July last year.
The court was told CASA investigators had seized videos showing skydivers jumping through cloud on 20 occasions.
CASA issues a show-cause notice when it has concerns that the operations of a company or person breaches its regulations. Most show-cause notices are issued over safety concerns.
A person or company receiving a show-cause notice must prove they are operating safely. Time frames to answer such notices vary according to the nature of the allegation.
The situation is complicated by the fact that skydiving is regulated by the parachute federation, but CASA has overall responsibility for aviation safety.
I think this article say's it all, where are all those skydive suporters.
Cheers Q