Mo. skydiving deaths cited as proof of 'inadequate oversight'

WASHINGTON -- Ruling on recent tragedies in Missouri and around the country, the National Transportation Safety Board said this morning that the parachuting industry suffers from inadequate oversight and safety problems such as improper maintenance of planes.

The board has been examining parachuting in the aftermath of six fatal accidents, including a crash in Sullivan, Mo. two years ago that claimed six lives.

The Missouri case represented several of the problems the board found overall in the industry. For instance, one of the engines of the plane was long overdue for overhaul, the board found.

Board members said that even though parachutists take risks jumping out of airplanes, they should not be subject to additional risks on the way to their jumps.

Board member Steven Chealander said that inadequate pilot training and lack of oversight "goes to the public trust."

The board said that since 1980, there have been 32 accidents involving parachuting aircraft that killed 172 people -- beyond 30 fatalities in jumps.

On July 29, 2006, a plane carrying sky divers from the Quantum Leap Skydiving School near the Sullivan Regional Airport crashed shortly after takeoff, killing six people.

Killed were the pilot, Scott Cowan, 42, of Sullivan; Robert B. Cook, 22, a skydiving instructor from Rolla, Mo.; Melissa Berridge, 38, of Maryland Heights; Victoria Delacroix, 22, who lived in England, and David Paternoster, 35, a skydiving instructor from Claycomo, Mo.

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Fonte: Flight Safety Information 23/09/2008.