No sanctions for skydiving center in tandem jump deaths, FAA says
Reporting from Lodi, Calif. — The Federal Aviation Administration says it cannot sanction a skydiving center in Central California for the 2016 deaths of two men killed in a tandem jump.
The Sacramento Bee reports the FAA announced Monday that under federal regulations it will not take action against the Skydive Lodi Parachute Center in the deaths of 25-year-old Yong Kwon, of South Korea, and 18-year-old Tyler Nicholas, of Los Banos.
Their bodies were found in a Lodi-area vineyard after someone reported the skydivers hit the ground without an open parachute.
FAA spokesman Ian Gregor says Kwon had paperwork indicating he received needed certification training. He says the skydiving instructor could be cited but not the Parachute Center in Acampo.
The FAA says the United States Parachute Assn. has revoked the memberships and instructional ratings of several people in connection with the deaths.
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