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10 Stouffvllh Sun-Tribune | Thursday. J BY JEREMY GRIMALDI jgrimaldi®yrmg.com While insisting each of the three skydiving deaths at his parachuting school in the past year are isolated in nature. Adam Mabee also said “all options are on the table" in terms of what to do to prevent more deaths at the facility. “It's not business as usual and it's not the status quo." he said, in response to questions about if a differ- ent approach is being taken to ensure better safety moving forward. “We look at each accident very carefully. We are doing everything we can at this point.” Former instructor and respected Bradford jumper Brad Vale. 39. died Saturday at Georgina's Parachute School of Toronto after attempting the advanced “swooping” landing technique that can reach speeds of 80 km/h. Vale's Facebook page is filled with pictures of him attempting extreme parachuting in exotic locales and what appears to be tandem diving with inexperienced jumpers strapped to his chest. 2.000 jumps in the past. Vale’s death came a month and a half after Newmarket’s Alana Sham- rock. 28. died due to equipment mal- function. ln July 2013. Igor Zaitsev. an advanced parachute student from Toronto,waskilled after he landed ina back yard near the school. The investigation into what hap- pened with Shamrock’s parachute is ongoing. according to Mabee. who said experts from the Canadian Forces are investigating the case. “We’re still not certain what hap- pened through the whole accident." he added. "This latest diver had the highest level of certification available. When it comes to experienced jump- ers, the onus of is primarily léft up toithe jgmpersf: ‘ Bradford skydiver remembered following fatal jump While Mabee admitted three deaths in a year is a particularly had run. he said he was unsure what steps he could take besides looking into what caused the accident and closing the school for a few days during peak jumping sea- son to "regroup". Rather than federal agencies fining or shutting down locations. resulting in jumpers simply travelling elsewhere. the best option for a drop zone in this He has been involved in more than Vale’s death came a month and a half after Newmarket’s Alana Shamrock, 28, died due to equipment malfunction. 1 GET CONNECTED situation is to bring in a safety consul- tant. parachute manufacturer and for- mer X-Games jumper Brian Germain said. in an interview from Washington. I).(1. "Usually. when there is “a rash of accidents. most of the time it's just poor luck." he said. "Everyone wants to point the finger and promote safety through the eradication of a weak link. but sometimes. that's not possible. Sometimes. the best thing is to have a safety course by a professional who does that kind of thing for a living." The good news forvthe schoolvis the divers who died were all experienced. he said. “It's a bad year. but the fact that it's not the same thing over and over is a reasonable sign that there isn’t a prob- lem with training." said Germain. who has more than 15.000 dives under his belt. “If it's all experienced divers. then we have to look at follow-up training.” The truth of the matter is swooping can be exciting, but is very dangemus. he added. “It's usually a result of people mak- ing poor piloting decisions." he said. Since automatic activation devices were installed in parachutes. swoop- ing has been one of the leading causes of skydiving-related death for expe- rienced jumpers. said Germain. who has conducted training at the school inthe Mabee said the death has been dif~ ficult for him and his organization. estimating he hosts hundreds of expe- rienced jumpers each year. like this' is going to hit very hard.” he said. _ v Organizations investigating the most recent death include police. cor- oner‘s office. 'Iransportation Ministry and Canadian Sport Parachuting Asso- ciation. Using the hashtag #BSBD, which stands for blue sky black death. a para- chuting expression that reminds jump~ ers of the paradox of the sport. Mner users have been expressing their sor- row about Vale's passing. Stephanie ROM. unaer the name @ BKKSteph. wrote: Husé ldrees noted: “#8880 my heart is in my throgt”. Chelsea ' Stephen wrote: “My thoughts are with all of my wonderful. amazing skydiving fn'gnds: #bspd”. Vale’§ fdneralvwill take place at Skwarchuk Funeral Home in Bradford. Al llND A celebration of life will be held at Chuichill United, 6300 Yonge St, Churchill, July 18 at 6 pm followed by a reception at Skydive Toronto. 3065 4th line, Cookstown, Adam Mabee, owner of Parachute School of Toronto in Baldwin, said that his school is examining what went wrong in three skydiving deaths to improve safety measures in the future. FACEBOOK STAFF PHOTO/SUSIE KOCKERSCHEIDT Photographs from Brad Vale’s Facebook page show his love for the sport. Vale was killed last week- end during a jump. He is centre in this photograph.