Four parachutists grounded in U.S.

Press, 27 October 1982, Page 4

Four parachutists grounded in U.S.

NZPA Yosemite National Park An international team of parachutists, including a New Zealander, was grounded by a United States magistrate who accepted their pleas of guilty four days after an illegal jump. The Magistrate ordered the Government to hold for a year the parachutes and other equipment used by the men in their adventurous but illegal leap from the 2285 m monolith. El Capitan. The four men who made the jumps were ordered to contribute SUSIOOO ($1370) to the park’s mountain safety fund. The Magistrate suspended a 120-day jail sen-

tence and put them on probation for two years. They are Frank Tuschka, aged 24, of West Germany; Ross Walter Steer, aged 26, of New Zealand; and Nobuyuki Fugiwara, aged 37, and Tomouki Kubota, aged 27, of Japan. Enforcement and punishment have been getting stiffer for cliff jumpers since August, when the sport recorded its first fatality at the park. Parachuting began at- the park in the 1960 s and was made legal for 39 days in 1980. The National Park Service ended a trial period early because of injuries and persistent violations of rules.