Skydiving Company Had Lodged A Protest Against The Airport With The Agency

A long-running dispute between Phoenix Area Skydiving and Casa Grande Municipal Airport (KCGZ) may soon be resolved by the FAA.

The Casa Grande Dispatch reports that the skydiving company had lodged a complaint earlier this year with the FAA against the city of Casa Grande, which had prohibited on-site skydiving at the airport. The company has been trying for two years to establish a drop zone at the airport. Its current drop zone is about three miles north of the field.

But Pinal County cited Phoenix Area Skydiving for using the off-site DZ. Company owner Luther Kurtz said that the move forced his hand in filing the complaint. The city filed documents with the FAA stating that a DZ "cannot be operated safely without significant disruption to the other existing operations at the airport."

The FAA has previously said that a DZ at the airport is "feasible" but carries a "medium amount of risk."

The city contends that on-site jumping would cause a "substantial disruption" to the airport's traffic flow. KCGZ reports about 120,000 operations each year, according to the report.

FMI: www.faa.gov, http://casagrandeaz.gov/