Skydivers Wary of Potential New Regs in FAA Reauthorization

The United States Parachute Association is offering a safety management system as an alternative to a proposal it says could put some small operators out of business.

Meg Godlewski

Monday, September 18, 2023 at 01:00 PM ET

Verified

The United States Parachute Association (USPA) is fighting proposed legislation that would require additional aircraft inspections and training for jump-plane pilots. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The United States Parachute Association (USPA) has developed an industry-specific Safety Management System (SMS) to promote professionalism and proactively mitigate risks in parachute operations, currently awaiting FAA review and planned for voluntary adoption.
This initiative coincides with the USPA's strong opposition to the proposed Air Tour and Sport Parachuting Safety Improvement Act of 2023, which would mandate additional aircraft inspections and pilot training.
The USPA argues that the proposed legislation would economically harm small operators and that existing regulations are sufficient, with many accidents stemming from pilot error rather than regulatory gaps.
They advocate for their industry-led SMS as a more effective approach to safety and professionalism, encouraging the aviation community to contact elected officials to protest the bill.

See a mistake? Contact us.

There is sometimes a fine line between increasing government oversight to make a business safer and making it economically infeasible to stay in business. The United States Parachute Association (USPA) is keenly aware of this, and as such it spent months crafting a safety management system (SMS) that can be applied to its industry.

The goal, according to Michael Knight, USPA director of government relations, is “to promote professionalism within the industry.”