Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Snohomish, sky diving community mourn loss of their own

Kaitlin Manry, Herald Writer

 SNOHOMISH -- The flag at Harvey Airfield flew at half-staff Tuesday. A reader-board bore the message "Peace and blue skies to our Skydive Snohomish Friends." A dozen white roses lay in the wet grass where spectators come to watch sky divers float to Earth.

Snohomish is beginning to process what city manager Larry Bauman said is the community's biggest tragedy in years.

Nine sky divers based in Snohomish died along with their pilot after the Cessna 208 Grand Caravan they were in "fell out of the sky" Sunday and crashed into the rugged terrain of the Cascade Range outside Yakima.

"Certainly it's devastating on a personal level to see a group of people perish so tragically that way," Bauman said.

The sky divers aboard were part of Skydive Snohomish, including some employees. Based at Harvey Airfield in Snohomish, the company made the airfield one of the best-known skydiving centers in the state, with 14,500 jumps annually.

Elaine Harvey, who runs and manages Skydive Snohomish with her husband, Tyson Harvey, said the fatal flight wasn't a Skydive Snohomish trip, but that all the people on board were licensed sky divers who considered Skydive Snohomish their home drop zone.

"It's not something you can comprehend," she said. "The pain is unimaginable. We lost 10 of our closest friends."

She has thought about the danger often associated with sky diving, but still feels the sport is relatively safe.

"Aviation is our lives," she said, standing outside the airfield with her husband. "But it is statistically safer to skydive than to commute to work and to do a lot of the other things we do on a regular basis. So it doesn't change our perception of anything aviation related. This is a tragic accident."

Harvey Field is right on Snohomish's doorstep. Downtown, shoppers and merchants quietly discussed news of the crash.

"It's like any traumatic event in town, it obviously hurts everybody in town," said Kathryn ­Deierling, owner of Weed's Variety, an 80-year-old shop. "It has an emotional impact on the town, and I think the impact of this will grow."

Deierling expects the tragedy to be felt throughout the community as more becomes known about the crash and its victims.

"It's a tight-knit community," she said. "People will come together to support whatever family members are left behind."
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA