1967 Lake Erie skydiving disaster
DateAugust 27, 1967 (1967-08-27)
LocationLake Erie near Huron, Ohio
TypeAviation accident, skydiving accident
CauseAir traffic control error and decision by pilot and divers[lower-roman 1] to jump through cloud cover in violation of regulations
OutcomeCongress considers greater regulation of skydiving
Casualties
16 deaths by drowning
InquiriesFatal Parachuting Accident Near Huron, Ohio, August 27, 1967: Special Investigation Report[1]
LitigationDreyer v. United States (1972),[3] affirmed as Freeman v. United States (1975)[4]
  1. ↑ Skydivers found "not without fault" for jumping in National Transportation Safety Board report,[1]: 4  but found not liable in civil litigation.[2]

On August 27, 1967, eighteen skydivers jumped from a civilian North American B-25 Mitchell some 20,000 feet (6,100 m) above Lake Erie, four or five nautical miles (7.5–9.3 km) from Huron, Ohio, after an error by air traffic control led the pilot to believe he was over Ortner Airport, which was in fact twelve to thirteen miles (19–21 km) away. The jump was executed over heavy cloud cover, in violation of Federal Aviation Administration rules, and the skydivers were unaware that they were over water until they punched through the clouds at 4,000 feet (1,200 m). Sixteen drowned; two were rescued by a civilian pleasure boat.

The disaster was at the time the deadliest in the history of recreational skydiving[5][6][note 1] and led to congressional scrutiny into regulation of skydiving. A report by the National Transportation Safety Board faulted the pilot, and to a lesser extent the parachutists, for executing a jump through clouds, and faulted the controller for misidentifying the plane's position after confusing it with a Cessna 180 Skywagon there to photograph the jump. The United States was subsequently held liable for the controller's error; the legal case, Freeman v. United States (1975), is notable for its holding that the skydivers did not have contributory negligence because the regulations they violated were not about their own safety.

Lead-up

A North American B-25 Mitchell like N3443G.

Around 30 parachutists arrived at Ortner Airport in Wakeman, Ohio, on August 27, 1967, to skydive together from a privately-owned North American B-25 Mitchell bomber (N3443G[1]: 1 ).[9] They came from across Ohio; the event was not sponsored by a skydiving organization.[10]: 42  According to one would-be participant, the plane became overloaded toward the rear when they initially attempted to load it with all comers, and so less experienced divers were asked to make way for the 20 most experienced.[9] Seventeen of the jumpers were United States Parachute Association (USPA) members and had made at least 75 jumps before, including seven who had made at least 200.[11] All signed liability waivers.[10]: 42 

Eighteen divers were to jump from 20,000 feet (6,100 m), with the other two to jump from 30,000 feet (9,100 m).[9] They were to deploy their chutes at 3,000 feet (910 m).[5] The B-25 was trailed by a Cessna 180 Skywagon (N2934C[1]: 3 ), to photograph the jump.[9] The jump area was part of a busy corridor for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.[12]

Incident

1967 Lake Erie skydiving disaster is located in Ohio
Lake Erie
Ohio
Ortner Airport
Ortner Airport
Huron
Huron
Vermilion
Vermilion
Drop site (approximate)
Drop site (approximate)
1967 Lake Erie skydiving disaster (Ohio)
The actual and intended drop sites

Unable to see the ground, the B-25's pilot relied on air traffic control to know his plane's position. During the plane's ascent, one controller took over from the previous one and subsequently mistook the Cessna's position on the radar display for the B-25's. This resulted in the B-25's pilot thinking he was back over at Ortner when he was in fact over Lake Erie, four to five nautical miles (7–9 km) from Huron.[13] Shortly after 4 pm,[13] at the planned height of 20,000 feet (6,100 m), the 18 skydivers jumped in quick succession from four exits.[10]: 42  The surface was not visible through cloud cover; jumping under such conditions was forbidden by USPA and Federal Aviation Administration rules.[5] From the plane's interior, it was difficult for jumpers to see their surroundings prior to jumping.[1]: 21  One of the two who did not jump noticed breaks in the clouds but could not tell whether it was land or water below.[14]

The cloud layer spanned roughly 4,000 to 6,000 feet (1,200–1,800 m); it was not until the jumpers fell through its bottom that they realized they were over the lake. According to a survivor, the jumpers deployed their parachutes at around 3,000 ft (900 m).[13] At least one jumper could not swim.[15]: A-2  In summaries of the incident by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and a federal court , the only account of the deceased jumpers' reactions comes from the two survivors, who reported seeing several canopies already deployed, running roughly parallel to the shore.[1]: 21 [14] One survivor said he was "flabbergasted" to realize he was over the lake.[10]: 42  He opened his parachute earlier than normal, hoping to drift closer to the shore.[16] Both survivors shed boots, heavy clothing, and anything that would not float, doffing their chutes and jump suits as they hit the water.[16][3] One used first his reserve parachute and later his helmet as flotation devices.[16] Other gear was later found floating in the water, which a judge surmised indicated similar efforts by the other jumpers to shed weight.[3]

Glimpsing water through a hole in the clouds, the pilot remarked to his co-pilot that he hoped they had not dropped the jumpers over Lake Erie. The two remaining skydivers later jumped as planned and safely landed at Ortner.[13]

Aftermath

Rescue and recovery

One Oberlin College professor reported seeing about a dozen parachutes hit the water in a line.[13] An off-duty Coast Guard lieutenant at the beach near Lorain also saw the incident and quickly notified Coast Guard Station Lorain. He then worked with civilian boaters to coordinate a rescue. Efforts began within minutes.[3][17] About 30 boats searched for the jumpers along the axis from Huron to Vermilion, but efforts were hampered by the cold and strong winds.[18] Two men on a pleasure boat rescued the two survivors, as well as a man they were unable to resuscitate.[10]: 42  Coast Guard assessments for finding more survivors were pessimistic,[10] which was borne out in following days, the final body being recovered on September 4.[19]

Investigation and proposed legislation

Some government officials initially suggested that the jumpers had been blown 20 miles (32 km) from their target by a strong crosswind.[18] In the immediate aftermath, one survivor reported that "[t]he plane was in the wrong place",[10]: 42  and the pilots of both the B-25 and the Cessna said that they had been given the wrong information by air traffic control.[15][20] On September 2, the National Transportation Safety Board began an investigation. Norman Heaton, executive director of the United States Parachute Association, testified that the jumpers could not have drifted more than 16,000 ft (5,000 m), meaning that the bomber was at least a mile (1.6 km) offshore at the time of the jump. The air traffic controller maintained that the bomber was six miles (9.7 km) inland.[12] Both survivors and the two jumpers from the second pass testified, as did the pilot of the bomber.[14]

The NTSB conducted three studies: The first concluded that the jumpers could not have drifted more than two miles (3.2 km), putting the bomber three to four miles (4.8–6.4 km) offshore and eleven miles (18 km) from Ortner. The second reconstructed the flight path and reached a similar conclusion as to the plane's location. The third considered the locations of both planes relative to the locations they were given by air traffic control, concluding that the controller mistook the Cessna for the B-25.[1]: 2–3  The report faulted the B-25 pilot for executing a jump when he could not see the ground and the air traffic controller for giving the wrong position for the plane; it also said that the skydivers themselves, given their experience, "were not without fault" for jumping under dangerous conditions.[1]: 4 [11] The board further found that, while the pilot was certified, he was not rated to fly a B-25 and the plane was not certified to carry passengers. Technical limitations prevented the pilot from both navigating and talking to control at once, which he failed to disclose to the air traffic controller.[1]: 30–31 [11]

NTSB Chair Joseph J. O'Connell Jr.

Shortly after the disaster, Senator Mike Monroney of Oklahoma, chair of the Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, proposed legislation for regulation of skydiving by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).[21] The NTSB's chair, Joseph J. O'Connell Jr., presented the board's findings on September 25 at a hearing of the subcommittee regarding the proposed legislation. David D. Thomas, deputy administrator of the FAA, testified that jumping through clouds was already outright prohibited. Both officials spoke in opposition to increased regulation, saying that the current system was adequate.[11] The bill, S. 2137 of the 90th Congress,[22] did not become law.[23]

Lawsuit

Both survivors and the estates of all 16 deceased jumpers sued the United States for the air traffic controller's error. In the consolidated Federal Tort Claims Act case, Dreyer v. United States (1972), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio found the United States liable on the basis of the controller's negligence.[3][24] The decision was affirmed by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals under the name Freeman v. United States (1975).[24][4]

Dreyer came as the federal courts explored the contexts in which the FAA has a duty of care.[25] James J. McCarthy, in the Journal of Air Law and Commerce, characterizes it as "an interesting and somewhat unusual case".[24] In the same journal, Laura J. Perkins cites Freeman as an example of how it is often easier to collect damages against a third party than an air sport service provider, as the former are not covered by waivers.[26] Freeman is cited in the Restatement of Torts, Third, Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm for its finding that, since the skydiving regulations at the time were not designed to protect skydivers but rather those they might hit, there was no contributory negligence on the part of the jumpers.[2]

Other developments

Skydivers conducted memorial jumps in 1968 and 1969, both times first throwing a wreath out of a plane and then intentionally jumping into Lake Erie.[27][28] A Springfield News-Sun article about the 1969 jump notes that the skydivers wore light clothing and flotation devices.[28] In 2020, one man who had gotten off the bomber before it took off told The Advertiser-Tribune of Tiffin, Ohio, that he was considering celebrating his 90th birthday, four years thence, by doing the same.[9]

N3443G, the B-25 that dropped the skydivers, was destroyed in 1970 in a crash at Orange Municipal Airport in Massachusetts.[13][29][30]

Notes

  1. ↑ The death toll was surpassed by the 1982 Mannheim helicopter crash, which killed 46 people, including 38 skydivers.[7] As of 1992, no skydiving incident had surpassed the Lake Erie disaster in terms of individuals killed after jumping.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Fatal Parachuting Accident Near Huron, Ohio, August 27, 1967: Special Investigation Report (Report). National Transportation Safety Board. 1967.
  2. 1 2 Restatement of Torts, Third, Liability for Physical and Emotional Harm. Restatements of the Law. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: American Law Institute. 2005. p. 166 – via HeinOnline.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Dreyer v. United States, 349 F. Supp. 296 (N.D. Ohio 1972). Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. 1 2 Freeman v. United States, 509 F.2d 626 (6th Cir. 1975).
  5. 1 2 3 "Bad Trip". Time. Vol. 90, no. 10. September 8, 1967. pp. 38–40. EBSCOhost 54038314.
  6. ↑ "Lake Combed for 14 Sky Divers: Inquiry Is Set on Plane's Course". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 29, 1967. p. 24. ProQuest 117919221.
  7. ↑ "Copter's Maker Held Liable In 1982 Crash That Killed 46". The New York Times. November 17, 1983. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  8. ↑ Roberts, Rich (June 3, 1992). "Fear Bails Out: Skydivers Don't Give Up Despite Crash". The Los Angeles Times. pp. C5. Citing data compiled by the United States Parachute Association's Parachutist magazine.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Vucovich, Lynanne (August 29, 2020). "A life spared: Man didn't take flight that led to 16 parachuter deaths in 1967". The Advertiser-Tribune. Tiffin, Ohio: Ogden Newspapers. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "2 Dead, 14 Missing As 18 Sky Divers Fall Into Lake Erie: Wind Blows Sky Divers Off Course". The New York Times. Associated Press. August 28, 1967. pp. 1, 42. ProQuest 117902565.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Clark, Evert (September 26, 1967). "Pilot, Controller and Jumpers Found at Fault in Deaths of 16 Sky Divers". The New York Times. p. 36. ProQuest 117481014.
  12. 1 2 "Federal Probe Begins On Lake Erie Tragedy, Testimonies Conflict Among Expert Skydivers". The Daily Advocate. Greenville, Ohio. United Press International. September 2, 1967. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jackson, Tom (August 14, 2017). "Disaster 50 years ago killed 16 sport parachutists". Sandusky Register. Ogden Newspapers. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 Hudson, Edward (September 2, 1967). "Had No Qualms, 4 Skydivers Say: Survivors of Fatal Flight on Stand at Official Inquiry". The New York Times. p. 30.
  15. 1 2 Gaynor, Donn; Zaidan, Abe (August 28, 1967). "14 Missing; 2 from Area Dead: Did a Radar Mistake Cause Tragic Lake Erie Sky Jump?". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. pp. A-1–A-2 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. 1 2 3 "'I Was Shocked—Lake Erie!': Sky-Diving Survivor Quits Sport". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, N.J. Associated Press. August 29, 1967. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Skydivers". The Sandusky Register. August 28, 1967. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com. Note: First page of article is missing from archive.
  18. 1 2 Rau, David (August 28, 1967). "Weather Hurt in Boaters' Search for Downed Divers". Sandusky Register. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "Body of Final Skydiver Found; Probe Continues". The Daily Times. New Philadelphia, Ohio. United Press International. September 5, 1967. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "15 Skydivers Feared Dead after Landing in Lake Erie". The Hanford Sentinel. Hanford, Calif. United Press International. August 28, 1967. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Monroney Asks Skydive Control". Evansville Press. Evansville, Ind. United Press International. August 30, 1967. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Daily Digest: Monday, September 25, 1967". Congressional Record. Vol. 113. United States Congress. p. D487 – via Congress.gov.
  23. ↑ "Public Laws: 90th Congress (1967–1968)". Congress.gov. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  24. 1 2 3 McCarthy, James J. (1978). "Aerobatics, Sport Aviation and Student Instruction". Journal of Air Law and Commerce. 44 (2): 315. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  25. ↑ Iser, Lawrence Yale (1979). "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's the FAA: Government Liability for Negligent Airworthiness Certification". Hastings Law Journal. 31 (1). 251 n. 30.
  26. ↑ Perkins, Laura J. (November 1996). "A Practical Guide to Recovery for Injured Air Sport Participants". Journal of Air Law and Commerce. 62 (2): 571–573.
  27. ↑ "Skydiver Tragedy is Commemorated". Akron Beacon Journal. August 28, 1968. p. D6 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. 1 2 "Skydivers Make Memorial Jumps At Site Of Tragedy". Springfield News-Sun. August 28, 1969. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ↑ "NTSB Identification: NYC71AN018" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved July 9, 2023 – via Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives.
  30. ↑ "At Least 16 Die in Weekend Accidents". The Recorder. Greenfield, Mass. Associated Press. August 10, 1970. p. 1.
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