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It was the worst death toll yet in a disaster-prone sport that badly needs more stringent supervision. So far this year, 36 chutists have died; last year the figure was 23, the year before 25. The U.S. Parachute Association argues that there is only one fatality for every 55.000 jumps, points to its long list of dos and don'ts for members. In the Ohio tragedy, there was an obvious FAA radar foul-up. Yet the chutists had broken every rule in their own book, rules that in any event are largely voluntary. Aside from the cloud regulation, no federal or state agency pays much attention. The theory apparently is that the only lives parachutists risk are their own. But that is a dubious assumption. At least it is to the Airline Pilots Association, which grimly speculated last week on what would happen if some day a skydiver plummeting gaily down from 20,000 ft. should slam into the windshield, wing or tail assembly of a passenger-laden airliner.
