Move Follows Latest Incident Of Skydivers Landing At Kings Bay Submarine Base

The St. Marys, GA, airport authority voted Wednesday night to shut down The Jumping Place ... a skydiving operation based at the airport ... by revoking its permit to operate. The vote came Wednesday after two skydivers were blown off course on August 12th and landed on the Kings Bay submarine base in southeast Georgia.

The Florida Times-Union reports that the debate between the airport authority and owners of the skydiving company became heated at times. But after Navy Commander Jeff Pafford told the board "this cannot happen again," board member Frank Frasca made the motion to revoke the permit.

Seven skydivers from The Jumping Place have landed on the Navy property over the past three years. The airspace over the base is a prohibited area (P-50), with flights below 3,000 feet prohibited by any unauthorized aircraft in a 2 nm radius around the base. The Jumping Place owner Cather Kloess argued that her operation meets all FAA guidelines and follows all regulations. She said jumpers are shown aerial photos and videos of the base, and warned not to land there. But she said sometimes they are blown off course, and they have to land where they feel it is safe.

That wasn't good enough for the base commander. “They cannot land at Submarine Base Kings Bay," he told the board. "The issue is not what to do after a skydiver lands. They cannot land at Submarine Base Kings Bay. It cannot be a last resort area.”

Casey Kloess-Finley, the owner's son, said the company plans to appeal the decision to the FAA. He said only the federal agency, not the airport authority, has the standing to shut down their business.

FMI: www.ci.st-marys.ga.us, www.cnic.navy.mil/kingsbay, www.faa.gov