Agency Warns That An Investigation Could Be Pending

The FAA has told the Chatham, MA Board of Selectmen that it needs to issue a second Request for Proposals (RFP) for skydiving operations at the local airport.

The board recently rewrote an RFP for the activity as requested by the FAA, but the agency said that it was not sufficient. In a letter to the board, FAA Airports Division Manager said "If the RFP goes out in its current form the town leaves itself open to complaints, both formal and informal, from operators who may view some of the provisions unduly restrictive and obstructive.  We therefore urge the town to immediately revise the RFP to fully meet our concerns and to issue the RFP with further delay."

Walsh said if skydiving is not allowed at the airport soon, the agency might launch an investigation.

According to Cape Cod Wicked Local, Skydiving is not popular with some residents of the Cape Cod community, who had complained about Skydive Cape Cod which operates out of Chatham Municipal Airport (KCQX). They complained that the activity was not "safe" in the densely populated area.

The town board eventually voted not to renew the lease of Skydive Cape Cod despite the company showing proof of compliance with state and federal safety standards. Jimmy Mendonca of Skydive Cape Cod subsequently filed a complaint with the FAA.

An initial RFP would have restricted any skydiving company to five flights per day. The FAA said that was not sufficient, and pointed out some 20 problems with the document. The second RFP was drafted to address the FAA's issues, but it apparently is still too restrictive.

Cape Cod Wicked Local reports that the town is working on a third draft of the RFP, but at the same time is seeking a waiver from the agency from the requirement that the activity be allowed at the airport.

The Skydive Cape Cod website indicates that did not take reservations for the  2104 season, but was "looking forward to resuming our activities in April 2015." With the notice still on the website, we can assume that didn't happen. Their Facebook page was also last updated in 2014.

FMI: www.chatham-ma.gov/Public_Documents/ChathamMA_Selectmen/index, www.facebook.com/skydive.chatham