When USPA receives a complaint about an individual member or a Group Member drop zone violating rules or acting in an unsafe manner, the USPA Board of Directors’ Compliance Group investigates the allegations using a specific process that the USPA Governance Manual outlines. The Compliance Group—consisting of the chairman of the Safety and Training Committee, the chairman of the Group Membership Committee, a national director who is not on the Executive Committee, the director of safety and training and the appropriate regional director—formed in 2013, when USPA changed its disciplinary process in an effort to consistently handle investigations. After the Compliance Group completes its investigation, it forwards a recommendation to the Executive Committee along with the details of the investigation. The Executive Committee can decide whether to vote on the recommendation as presented or request changes or additional information from the Compliance Group before rendering a final decision.

In 2017, the Compliance Group investigated allegations involving 17 USPA members and took action against 13 of them. In one instance, a member appealed, and the case has not yet been finalized, so the details are not included here. USPA took disciplinary action regarding the following:

• Three members for violations related to the issuance of new instructor ratings. USPA suspended a USPA Tandem Instructor Examiner’s examiner ratings for 60 days and issued a letter of censure to a tandem instructor and drop zone owner for conducting tandem jumps when USPA had not issued the tandem instructor’s rating due to clerical reasons after the instructor completed the rating course. Neither the member nor the drop zone owner followed up to ensure that USPA issued the rating.
• Two members for violating the required distances from spectators while landing on a demo jump. USPA delivered a letter of censure to both jumpers, who passed over a crowd line while lower than 50 feet and landed closer than 15 feet laterally to spectators at the end of high-performance landings. 
• Two members for submitting falsified documents related to USPA ratings. USPA suspended one member for 180 days for falsifying records to attend a tandem instructor certification course. USPA revoked one member’s membership and all ratings for falsifying a Federal Aviation Administration Third-Class Medical certificate in an attempt to renew his USPA Tandem Instructor rating.
• Five members for actions related to unsafe skydiving. In separate incidents, USPA suspended the USPA Tandem Instructor ratings of two members for 180 days and required them to receive retraining before reinstatement due to tandem jumps that resulted in low main-canopy deployments and activations of the automatic activation devices. USPA revoked the tandem instructor rating of another member due to multiple tandem skydives conducted in an unsafe manner. USPA also suspended a USPA Tandem Instructor’s rating for 60 days and required retraining with an examiner due to repeated unsafe exits during tandem skydives. USPA revoked the membership of another member due to continual violations of the Basic Safety Requirements.

Skydivers, and particularly rating holders, should understand that “willful, flagrant and continual BSR violations,” grossly negligent acts that endanger themselves and others, and falsification and misrepresentation of USPA documents and applications will subject them to actions against their USPA credentials.