By Paul Gable
The more we look at the case built by Horry County Department of Airports against Skydive Myrtle Beach, the more holes appear.
After Skydive Myrtle Beach reported HCDA to the Federal Aviation Administration in 2014 for discriminatory actions, HCDA began reporting alleged safety incidents by Skydive Myrtle Beach operations to the FAA. A total of 112 of these alleged violations occurred, according to HCDA.
Skydive Myrtle Beach also filed suit in circuit court against Horry County and HCDA for their actions.
None of the 112 alleged safety incidents HCDA insists Skydive Myrtle Beach committed were ever properly reported to the FAA, according to FAA reporting requirements.
The FAA has a reporting system for tower operations regarding safety violations. It is known as the Comprehensive Electronic Data Analysis and Reporting (CEDAR) system. Instructions for reporting in the CEDAR System are required if any of the below three questions apply:
“The basic considerations when deciding whether or not to report an incident should be:
- Did a dangerous situation occur?
- Could a dangerous incident have occurred if circumstances had been different?
- Could a dangerous incident occur in the future if the situation being reported is not corrected?”
A total of 112 safety violations were allegedly catalogued by HCDA and Robinson Aviation, the county’s contractor for tower operations at Grand Strand Airport. Yet, not one of these alleged violations were ever reported to the CEDAR System.
If Skydive Myrtle Beach was operating at Grand Strand Airport in such a grossly unsafe manner as HCDA categorized to the press, why is there no record of this in the CEDAR System?
The FAA apparently went along with this fictitious plan. Even though none of the alleged violations were in the database of its CEDAR System, the FAA issued a 73 page report on these violations that HCDA used as its basis for evicting Skydive Myrtle Beach.
How did the FAA issued a 73 page report on these alleged safety incidents when none were included in its CEDAR System database?
A county spokesperson was quoted in local media that the county was “saving lives” by evicting Skydive Myrtle Beach from Grand Strand Airport even though no injuries or loss of life was ever connected to any of these violations, according to HCDA “Unusual Incident Reports” allegedly cataloguing them.
An attorney representing Horry County in the ongoing lawsuit with Skydive Myrtle Beach reported in court, three weeks prior to the issuance of the FAA report, the FAA was in the process of shutting down Skydive Myrtle Beach.
The FAA never actually shut down Skydive Myrtle Beach. Horry County did when it evicted the business from Grand Strand Airport.
It looks more and more like HCDA and the FAA conspired to remove Skydive Myrtle Beach from Grand Strand Airport without proper justification to do so.
Skydive Myrtle Beach is a FAA airport approved business type. It is owned and operated by veterans of the US Armed Forces.
This is a terribly shabby way for an agency of the federal government and the county government to treat former military service members.
Speak Up…