Friends of British woman Sarah-Jane Bayram held a memorial service at Muriwai Beach days after the March 2022 accident. Photo: NZ Herald / Sylvie Whinray
A traumatised skydiver on the same Muriwai jump that claimed the life of British woman Sarah-Jane Bayram has spoken for the first time about the accident and hit out at the official investigation into her death.
The skydiver claims no one from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) interviewed them until more than eight months after the accident, by which time they had forgotten key information, potentially compromising evidence.
They have also defended the skydiving community against claims it is made up of "badass adrenaline-chasers", saying those who partake in the sport know the risks and understand it is "unforgiving" when things go wrong.
The Herald can also reveal that Skydive Auckland, the company which operated the fatal 10 March, 2022 sunset beach jump, was issued a safety improvement notice by the regulator after the fatality, requiring it to ensure standby rescue craft were in place for any future jumps over or near water, and that parachutists were "competent" swimmers.
The company's CEO, Tony Green, says Skydive Auckland will comply with the notice.
But he claims it has been unfairly singled out by CAA, and if the notice is genuinely about safety, he believes it should also be targeted at all marine recreation businesses and skydiving companies operating near major lakes in Taupō and Queenstown.
"Skydive Auckland broke no rules, no regulations and did nothing outside its mandate on that jump and they know that," Green claims.
Bayram, 43, was blown more than one kilometre out to sea to her death after colliding with another jumper during a nine-person "speed star" formation jump from 13,000 feet. It is alleged she was pulled from the water unconscious, purple and foaming at the mouth by two men who rushed to her aid on a jetski.
The skydiver who was on Bayram's jump agreed to speak to the Herald anonymously to highlight concerns about the CAA investigation.
They say police took a statement immediately after the tragedy. But despite holding first-hand information about the jump they believed could be potentially important, they claim no one from the CAA - which has overall responsibility for investigating aviation accidents - contacted them until November.
They understood at least one other jumper had also not heard from the CAA until then, and the Herald understands Green was only interviewed a month later - more than nine months after the accident.
The skydiver claims the CAA investigator admitted to having no skydiving expertise, forcing them to explain terminology and concepts relating to the sport during the interview.
They also claim the investigator promised to provide a written transcript for the skydiver to check to ensure the phone interview had been recorded accurately, but this has not yet happened.
They were surprised to read that CAA had laid charges against Skydive Auckland and Green last month.
"I'm really mad. I was just really disappointed with how they handled this.
"When they contacted me in November, I was really pissed and said, 'Why did you take so long to call me, because now I can't remember the details'.
"I was in shock at that stage. I was really angry.
"The [investigator] admitted to me he never had any skydiving experience. I had to spend a lot of time explaining things to him.
"I said, 'Do you know what I'm talking about?' He said, 'Someone will review it'."
The skydiver said Bayram was "passionate and really lovely". Her death had rocked the parachuting community.
"We love jumping. We love the people. It's a small community, and losing anyone is really painful."
The skydiver said there were misconceptions that the sport attracted "adrenaline-chasers", but many parachutists were professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and counsellors.
"We know the risks when we choose this sport and we know that accidents can happen.
"No matter how well you train, you can reduce the risk, but it's still an unforgiving sport ... and people who choose to do this understand that."
Sixteen people were on board Bayram's final flight, though only nine were involved in the formation attempt and pre-jump briefing, the skydiver said.
They did not wish to comment further on the accident or confirm if they witnessed the mid-air collision. Recounting those details was still too raw.
And despite other skydivers telling the Herald Bayram had voiced concerns about strong winds before boarding the aircraft, the skydiver believes the weather conditions were safe, saying "no one was nervous" on the plane.
"It was just a normal jump."
Asked about standby rescue boats, the skydiver said they were not required by CAA regulations and they did not know if this would have increased Bayram's chances of survival.
The Herald has obtained a copy of the CAA safety improvement notice issued to Skydive Auckland in September, six months after Bayram's death.
It warned the company to "remedy" any activities which may be contravening the Health and Safety at Work Act.
The notice recommended ensuring adequate emergency responses were in place when parachuting within one nautical mile of water, including having a watercraft "in situ to immediately affect a rescue".
Rescue personnel should be trained and qualified as first responders, and the company should also ensure skydivers were "capable and competent swimmers".
Failure to comply with the notice could result in conviction and a fine of up to $250,000.
Green claims requiring Skydive Auckland to ascertain if parachutists were strong swimmers lacked logic when the same individuals could rent a kayak or go white-water rafting without vetting.
"Name one activity a non-swimmer is prohibited from in New Zealand other than doing a jump near water with Skydive Auckland. Do you see the logic here?"
The company had not done any beach jumps since the accident but was likely to do so in the future, and had agreed to meet CAA's requirements.
But Green believes it was unfair to single out his company when most tandem parachute jumps were carried out at Taupō and Queenstown near major lakes.
If the CAA "truly" wanted to improve safety, the improvement notices should apply industry-wide, Green claims.
More than 12 months on from Bayram's death, Green said he still did not know how she died, and the skydiving community wanted answers so any necessary safety improvements could be implemented.
"CAA holds all the evidence and nothing has been released to us.
"If there is anything to be learned from the accident, it should be tabled and given to skydiving professionals to look at and maybe make some new recommendations.
"But the reality is, it could be another year or so until any answers are given."
Green describes the eight-month delay to interview Bayram's fellow jumpers as ironic, given his company was given just 21 days to provide a full investigation report to the authority.
He and his company planned to defend the charges, which he believed were "unreasonable and unfounded".
The CAA said the prosecution resulted from a health and safety investigation by warranted inspectors.
It could not comment further while the matter was before the courts.
The purpose of health and safety investigations was to identify if people were exposed to a risk of harm and whether this risk had breached duties under the act.
"The CAA assesses the likelihood of a breach carefully and methodically looking at all relevant information obtained, which may include information gathered by other agencies such as police, industry guidance, and interviews as appropriate to each investigation."
- This story was first published on the NZ Herald