Narrative:

My student was signed off for a solo cross country, fpr-X14-phk-fpr. The student comes from another country and english is not his first language. He was en route from X14 to phk and in the vicinity of airglades airport. This airport has parachute jumping from time to time. The student was aware of this and made a radio call announcing his intentions of over-flying the field at 2500 ft eastbound. However, apparently the pilot of the jumper plane heard the radio call and announced that jumpers were already in the air and that the student should stay clear of the airport. The student did not understand or even expect a message aimed at him at this moment. He said that he heard someone say something, but he did not understand it. He reported to me that he thought the message was for another pilot, since he was not expecting any type of clearance. As he approached the airport, he said at a certain point he saw a parachute jumper off to his right and below him. He made a quick turn to avoid the person. He could not really give me an idea of how close he came to the jumper, or the parachute, but he did say that the jumper was the only one that he saw. The event shook up my student and he decided to return back to fpr, instead of landing at phk. The student will be getting more time with dual cross country practice, and he will be taking more language classes to get him up to speed with english.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A PA28 CFI RPTED THAT HIS STUDENT, ON A SOLO XCOUNTRY, HAD A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH A PARACHUTE JUMPER NEAR X14.

Narrative: MY STUDENT WAS SIGNED OFF FOR A SOLO XCOUNTRY, FPR-X14-PHK-FPR. THE STUDENT COMES FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY AND ENGLISH IS NOT HIS FIRST LANGUAGE. HE WAS ENRTE FROM X14 TO PHK AND IN THE VICINITY OF AIRGLADES ARPT. THIS ARPT HAS PARACHUTE JUMPING FROM TIME TO TIME. THE STUDENT WAS AWARE OF THIS AND MADE A RADIO CALL ANNOUNCING HIS INTENTIONS OF OVER-FLYING THE FIELD AT 2500 FT EBOUND. HOWEVER, APPARENTLY THE PLT OF THE JUMPER PLANE HEARD THE RADIO CALL AND ANNOUNCED THAT JUMPERS WERE ALREADY IN THE AIR AND THAT THE STUDENT SHOULD STAY CLR OF THE ARPT. THE STUDENT DID NOT UNDERSTAND OR EVEN EXPECT A MESSAGE AIMED AT HIM AT THIS MOMENT. HE SAID THAT HE HEARD SOMEONE SAY SOMETHING, BUT HE DID NOT UNDERSTAND IT. HE RPTED TO ME THAT HE THOUGHT THE MESSAGE WAS FOR ANOTHER PLT, SINCE HE WAS NOT EXPECTING ANY TYPE OF CLRNC. AS HE APCHED THE ARPT, HE SAID AT A CERTAIN POINT HE SAW A PARACHUTE JUMPER OFF TO HIS R AND BELOW HIM. HE MADE A QUICK TURN TO AVOID THE PERSON. HE COULD NOT REALLY GIVE ME AN IDEA OF HOW CLOSE HE CAME TO THE JUMPER, OR THE PARACHUTE, BUT HE DID SAY THAT THE JUMPER WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT HE SAW. THE EVENT SHOOK UP MY STUDENT AND HE DECIDED TO RETURN BACK TO FPR, INSTEAD OF LNDG AT PHK. THE STUDENT WILL BE GETTING MORE TIME WITH DUAL XCOUNTRY PRACTICE, AND HE WILL BE TAKING MORE LANGUAGE CLASSES TO GET HIM UP TO SPD WITH ENGLISH.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.