Short Final: Skydiving All Day

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A pilot monitored several informal and colorful radio calls from different locations regarding skydiving activities.
  • The pilot humorously asked Air Traffic Control (ATC) if "they were dropping bodies," to which ATC was unaware of the prior skydiving advisories.
  • The incident highlights a disconnect between localized, informal CTAF broadcasts and ATC's awareness of specific skydiving warnings.
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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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