Short Final: Skydiving All Day

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A pilot heard multiple skydiving-related radio calls on CTAF.
  • The calls used various, informal phrases to warn of skydivers.
  • One call jokingly referenced "dropping bodies."
  • Air traffic control was unaware of the skydiving activity.
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I was flying along, monitoring CTAFs and heard the following:

“Penn Ridge, Penn Ridge, use caution. Use caution. Multiple parachutes in the air near Penn Ridge. Use caution.”

Immediately thereafter, “Skydiving in progress over Brookhaven. Bombs Away!”

Followed by, “Cross Keys, Yay Hooray. Skydiving All Day. Please Stay Away!”

Then, me to New York Approach: “Are they dropping bodies over Gardner?”

Approach: “Huh? Say again.”

Approach obviously hadn’t been privy to any of the prior radio calls!

Daniel Spitzer
Piermont, New York

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