Trainee And First-Timer Died In Tandem Jump

A skydiving instructor whose certificate was suspended in 2015 has been sentenced to two years in prison for running unauthorized skydiving courses at the Lodi Parachute Center in Acampo, California.

Robert Pooley, 49, of Acampo was found guilty in May 2024 after he continued to train over 100 new instructors using a digital image of another certified instructor’s signature to sign off on the courses. Pooley was charging $1,100 per training course.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement, “Pooley falsely told students that he was a tandem examiner. After those deaths, numerous victims of Pooley’s scheme asked for their money back, but he did not repay them.”

Yong Kwon, a 25-year-old who had moved recently to California from South Korea, was one of Pooley’s trainees. He was paired for a tandem jump with first-time skydiver 18-year-old Tyler Turner on August 16, 2016, when both were killed when Kwon was unable to successfully open either the main or reserve chutes. Turner’s mother described the scene at the parachute center that day as “hurried and rushed.”

Pooley has not been charged in those deaths, but the owner of the operation, William Dause, was sued by Turner’s family, who were awarded a $40 million judgment. But as of 2023 the family has not received any of the judgment.

The Lodi Parachute Center has been investigated in relation to 28 deaths since 1985. The investigation showed a confusing level of regulation related to the sport.

FMI:  www.uspa.org/ATC