May 21,1998
By Pamela Martineau,
Bee Staff Writer

(Ed. note: There is no indication that the instructor was impaired, but this incident has become the basis for a further extension of "drug" testing. Ironically, if the instructor was impaired, it may have been by an allergy medicine that would not be covered by the tests.)

DRUG TESTS URGED FOR SKYDIVING INSTRUCTORS

In the aftermath of the skydiving deaths last month of Sacramento woman and her tandem jumping instructor, investigators with the local Federal Aviation Administration are recommending that all tandem skydiving instructors in the United States be required to undergo mandatory drug tests.

The recommendation is part of an official FAA report on the deaths April 18 of Stephanie Ann Cotter, 26, and her skydiving instructor Seth Blake, 28. They died while jumping in tandem from an airplane at 9,000 feet after their parachute—for unknown reasons—failed to open.

Deaths are not extraordinarily rare in skydiving, but the accident last month at the SkyDance SkyDiving Company in Yolo County has become controversial since Blake’s autopsy report revealed he had traces of marijuana in his blood and a 0.04 percent blood alcohol level.

FAA regulations—the only governmental oversight of skydiving—forbid alcohol or drug use by skydivers or their instructors. But the FAA does not require drug testing of the jumpers or their teachers.

At high altitudes, alcohol and drugs can severely hinder reflex responses.

"I feel very strongly that this should be mandatory and regulated," said Robert Cotter, Stephanie’s father who has said he and his wife, Edith, will commit the rest of their lives to increasing governmental oversight of skydiving.

"It took my kid’s death to do this," Cotter said.

Tim Pile, a spokesman for the FAA’s Western region, cautioned that recommendations in official investigations must travel through many channels before being adopted—and many don’t make it.

"Something like this would be controversial. There would be opposition," said Pile.

If officials in Washington chose to pursue the change, he said, they must solicit comment across the country. Managers at SkyDance SkyDiving adamantly maintained that Blake was neither intoxicated nor high the morning of his fatal jump.

"We have a very clear rule that we don’t tolerate that here," said Ray Ferrell, co-director of Sky- Dance SkyDiving. "Seth had been on duty since 8 o’clock that morning and there was no alcohol apparent."

Owners of the skydiving company speculated that Blake’s allergy medication could have triggered a positive reading for alcohol, a contention that officials at the Yolo County Coroner’s Office have declined to comment on.

Cotter filed suit earlier this month against SkyDance SkyDiving and its parent company Prestar, charging that the owners and managers of the company were negligent in allowing his daughter to jump with an instructor who was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

The FAA investigative report on the deaths of Cotter and Blake has not yet been made public, but investigators within the Sacramento office of the FAA said Wednesday that the final report will include the mandatory drug testing recommendation. Cotter said he hopes the proposed rule will be adopted sooner, rather than later.

"Clerks at the hardware store where my wife and I shop have to be drug tested before being hired," he said. Ferrell said SkyDance SkyDiving is looking into adopting a company policy of drug testing employees.