People Keep Dying At This Skydiving Center

From 2016 to 2020, there were 84 skydiving deaths in the United States, according to the United States Parachute Association. Nine of those deaths happened at one place — California's Lodi Parachute Center in San Joaquin County — SF Gate reported. According to the publication, a total of 22 people lost their lives skydiving at the Lodi Center since 1981.

On April 17, the skydiving company, which brands itself as the "most inexpensive in the world," had another fatal incident when 57-year-old Sabrina Call, an experienced jumper, became entangled in a parachute that didn't open properly, according to SF Gate. 

The Lodi Parachute Center opened in 1964, per the website, and is run by Bill and Kathy Dause. The company offers tandem jumps for both first timers and experienced jumpers. You just show up, pay for your jump, and jump, according to the website. For those looking to make skydiving a regular thing, Lodi Parachute Center also offers skydiving training.

While the website is big on making sure you know they offer the cheapest price to skydive anywhere, they have beautiful views of wine country, and you'll get a video and plenty of photos of your jump when you leave, there is no mention of safety anywhere. 

However, they do offer experience, claiming owner Bill Dause is a "skydiving legend" who has been doing the sport daily for the last 55 years.

The latest death at the Skydive Lodi Parachute Center comes on the heels of a $40 million lawsuit that the center lost in March after an 18-year-old and his tandem instructor fell to their deaths in 2016 when the parachutes couldn't be opened. 

The family's attorney told the Los Angeles Times, "He [the instructor] was still under a probationary period when they did the jump. And he did not have the appropriate emergency training."

Another accusation comes from someone who contacted the FAA following one of the deaths. 

"After the recent skydiving accident in Lodi, I had to say something. I refuse to skydive at the Lodi, CA skydiving center in Acampo or take tandem jumps knowing how rampant the ketamine, low dose LSD and pot smoking by tandem instructors have become. That was not there when I worked there. Plus, the foreigners and even the locals working there are not vetted by (exemption 6) to confirm if they even have a tandem rating or even the number of jumps they say they have," the person wrote, per the FAA website. "The recent skydiving accident could have been avoided by an experienced skydiver who knew how to pull the cords in the right sequence and was working with his full facilities."

However, Bill Dause told KCRA, "there is so much misinformation out there." He told the station of the recent death, "We're sad, but it's just like a car wreck or anything else. You have to go on."