Judge rules Skydive City, vendor must coexist until trial

Skydive City and its former flight vendor, Freefall Express, will have to find a way to coexist at the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport until their case goes to trial.

Pasco County Judge Susan Gardner opted not to intervene this week in the squabble between original founders of the multimillion-dollar skydiving business. Gardner told Freefall Express owner Billy Richards he could keep his planes in the hangar and maintain control of the fuel facility his company paid for until the litigation plays itself out in court.

Skydive City, which conducts 70,000 jumps a year, switched flight vendors in January after a 20-year business relationship with Freefall Express. President T.K. Hayes told Richards, who owns 32 percent of Skydive City, to vacate the property.

"I'm not sure why Freefall Express would want to stay there if they're not being used," Gardner said. "But at this point, I'm not willing grant an injunction on trespass against Freefall Express or Mr. Richards."

Richards said his company built the hangar, and he would keep his planes there - even if the case doesn't go to trial for years. He gets to stay, but Richards wasn't able to convince Gardner to restore Freefall Express as the flight vendor or to dissolve the corporation.

Richards has accused Hayes of putting profits ahead of customer safety when he admitted to flying skydivers in his Cessna without the proper FAA license and certification.

During a previous hearing, Hayes estimated he had flown about 20 loads of skydivers in March while he was still training for his single-engine commercial license. He also had allowed his medical certification to lapse. The FAA is investigating both matters.

After reviewing Hayes' flight logs, Richards' said the offenses were far more egregious than he realized. According to the logbook, Hayes actually made 47 flights without the proper certifications. More than a dozen of the flights occurred after Hayes was notified he was under investigation.

Hayes said he had underestimated the number of flights, but he said not all were violations because some included passengers who were not paying customers. Richards' $200-an-hour expert witness said Hayes' behavior demonstrated a "cavalier attitude" toward the most basic safety regulations.

The alleged FAA violations also could be grounds for the city to cancel Skydive City's lease, but neither City Manager Steve Spina nor Airport Manager Trina Sweet testified that the company's lease was at risk. Both said they would wait for the results of the FAA investigation before taking any action regarding the lease.

"I see nothing imminent," Gardner ruled. "I heard no evidence that the lease is in jeopardy. What I heard is that they have a good working relationship with Mr. Hayes."