Passed A Small Group Of Skydivers Near Houston Hobby Airport

ATC reportedly cleared a Southwest Airlines 737 through an active skydiving drop zone last Thursday, with the pilot reporting that the airplane flew near a small group of skydivers in the area.

The Houston Chronicle reports that the FAA said in a statement that "(p)reliminary information indicates that the Southwest jet had been cleared by a controller through that airspace on its approach to Houston Hobby Airport when the pilot reported that the aircraft had passed a small group of skydivers that had jumped from another aircraft."

The group was jumping with a company called Skydive Spaceland. The FAA said that the airplane passed the skydivers at about 5,000 feet some 20 miles south of Houston's Hobby airport. The agency said it had not yet determined the actual distance between the jumpers and the 737. It said it was also looking into whether both controllers and the skydiving operations followed proper procedures.

The skydiving company manager told the paper that his business operates at the southern edge of the Houston "Class B" airspace and complies with all federal regulations. Southwest has not commented on the matter.

FMI: www.faa.gov