For someone considering their first skydive, one of the most common questions is:
“What happens if the parachute doesn’t open?”
It is a completely reasonable question. After all, when you’re thousands of feet above the ground, the idea of having a problem with your parachute can sound frightening.
So what does happen. if a parachute malfunctions? The reassuring answer is that modern skydiving equipment is designed with multiple layers of safety and redundancy. Skydivers don’t simply rely on one parachute opening perfectly every time. Every modern parachute system has a main parachute and a reserve parachute, along with additional safety systems designed to help in an emergency.
A parachute malfunction is something skydivers train for, understand and prepare to deal with.
What is a parachute malfunction?
A malfunction occurs when the main parachute does not deploy correctly or does not produce a parachute that can be safely landed.
There are many different types of malfunctions. A parachute might fail to deploy completely, or it might open partially but have a problem such as line twists, a line-over, a damaged canopy or another configuration that makes it unsafe to land.
The important thing is that “the main parachute has a problem” does not mean “there are no parachutes left.”
That is precisely why a reserve parachute is carried.
The United States Parachute Association (USPA) classifies malfunctions broadly as either total malfunctions, where the main parachute has not successfully deployed, or partial malfunctions, where the parachute has deployed but is not safely landable.
Think of it like an aircraft with two engines
One useful way to understand the safety philosophy behind modern skydiving equipment is to compare it with aviation.
Imagine flying in an aircraft with two engines.
If one engine develops a problem, that doesn’t automatically mean the aircraft is going to crash. The aircraft has been designed so that it can continue flying using the second engine while the pilot follows the appropriate emergency procedures.
A modern skydiving rig uses a similar principle of redundancy.
You have:
Main parachute → Primary system
Reserve parachute → Backup system
The reserve isn’t there because the main parachute is expected to fail. It is there because safety-critical systems are designed with backup options.
And unlike an aircraft engine, which you continue operating after an engine failure, a malfunctioning main parachute is generally not something you simply continue flying beneath. The skydiver follows their trained emergency procedure to separate from the malfunctioning main when appropriate and deploy the reserve.
What happens if the main parachute malfunctions?
The exact response depends on the type of malfunction, the equipment being used and the skydiver’s training.
For a typical partial malfunction, the standard emergency response involves:
1. Recognise the malfunction
The skydiver determines that the canopy is not safely landable.
2. Check altitude
Altitude awareness is critical. Emergency decisions must be made with sufficient altitude remaining.
3. Cut away the main parachute
Where appropriate, the malfunctioning main is released from the harness and container system.
4. Deploy the reserve
The reserve parachute is then deployed.
5. Fly and land the reserve
Once the reserve is open, the skydiver flies it to a suitable landing area.
These procedures are not improvised in the air. Skydivers learn emergency procedures during their training and practise the correct responses so that they can react quickly if they ever experience a malfunction.
USPA guidance emphasises preparation, altitude awareness and practising emergency procedures before they are ever needed.
What if the main parachute doesn’t open at all?
This is known as a total malfunction.
The skydiver may have a problem such as being unable to deploy the main parachute or experiencing a situation where the main remains in the container.
The response is different from a partial malfunction because there may be no main parachute to cut away.
The reserve parachute is there for precisely this type of emergency.
Modern skydiving systems can also incorporate an Automatic Activation Device (AAD).
An AAD monitors altitude and descent conditions and can automatically initiate reserve deployment if the system detects that the skydiver is still descending at a dangerously high speed at a predetermined altitude.
USPA reports that all student systems include an AAD, while at least 90% of experienced skydivers also use one.
It is important to remember that an AAD is a backup safety device — not a replacement for the skydiver’s own emergency procedures.
How often do skydivers actually use their reserve?
Reserve parachutes are not just theoretical safety equipment.
According to the latest USPA data, an estimated 4,777 reserve rides occurred among USPA members during 2025, equivalent to approximately one reserve use for every 726 jumps.
This doesn’t mean that one in 726 skydives is a life-threatening emergency. Reserve parachutes can be used for a variety of reasons, and many reserve deployments result in a safe landing.
The important point is that skydivers are prepared for the possibility of needing the reserve.
How safe is skydiving?
Skydiving obviously involves risk. You’re jumping from an aircraft and descending through the atmosphere — it isn’t an activity without hazards.
However, modern skydiving is considerably more safety-focused than many people outside the sport realise.
In 2025, USPA members made an estimated 3.47 million skydives in the United States.
There were 16 civilian skydiving fatalities, giving a fatality rate of approximately:
0.46 deaths per 100,000 jumps
That’s approximately one fatality per 216,875 jumps.
The figure varies from year to year. In 2024, for example, there were nine fatalities across approximately 3.88 million U.S. skydives — a rate of approximately 0.23 deaths per 100,000 jumps, the lowest rate recorded at that time.
Long-term research paints a similar picture. A systematic review examining more than 62 million recreational skydivesfound an average fatality rate of approximately 0.0011%, with modern fatality rates below one death per 100,000 jumps.
How does skydiving compare with other sports?
It is tempting to say that skydiving is “safer than football,” “safer than cycling,” or “safer than horseback riding.”
The reality is more complicated.
Different sports are measured in different ways. Some statistics count injuries per participant, others per hour of participation, others per event, and skydiving is commonly measured per jump.
The U.S. National Safety Council specifically warns that sports injury statistics should not automatically be used to determine which sports are safer because participation frequency and duration vary considerably between activities.
So rather than making an exaggerated comparison, it is more accurate to say:
Skydiving is a high-adrenaline sport with inherent risk, but modern equipment, training, procedures and redundancy have made it significantly safer than its reputation might suggest.
Research comparing air sports has also found that recreational skydiving has a lower fatality rate than some other air sports, including paragliding. One study estimated approximately 1.4 deaths per 100,000 paragliding flights, roughly twice the risk of skydiving reported in the study.
Why parachute malfunctions don’t usually mean disaster
The key to understanding skydiving safety is risk management.
There isn’t one single piece of equipment or one single procedure responsible for keeping skydivers safe.
Instead, there are layers:
Training
Skydivers are taught how to recognise and respond to emergencies.
Equipment inspection
Parachute equipment is inspected, maintained and packed according to established procedures.
Main parachute
The primary parachute provides the normal means of getting safely to the ground.
Reserve parachute
A completely separate backup parachute is available if the main cannot be safely used.
Automatic Activation Device
An AAD provides another layer of protection by automatically initiating reserve deployment under specified conditions.
Emergency procedures
Skydivers learn what to do before they ever need to do it.
This is the same fundamental principle used throughout aviation and other safety-critical industries:
Don’t rely on one thing going right. Build layers of protection so that one problem doesn’t automatically become a catastrophe.
What about tandem skydiving?
Tandem skydiving has additional layers of safety because the passenger is attached to a qualified tandem instructor.
The instructor is responsible for managing the skydive, including deployment, canopy flight and the response to any emergency.
The passenger’s job isn’t to learn how to deal with every possible parachute malfunction during their first jump.
Instead, the tandem instructor is trained and equipped to handle these situations.
Tandem systems also incorporate a main parachute and reserve parachute, with modern safety equipment designed specifically for tandem operations.
The most important safety system is preparation
One of the biggest misconceptions about parachute malfunctions is that the outcome depends entirely on whether the equipment works.
In reality, how a skydiver responds to a problem is extremely important.
USPA notes that many skydiving accidents are associated with human error rather than equipment failure, including errors in judgement and failures to respond correctly to a malfunction.
That’s why skydivers spend so much time learning emergency procedures.
The objective is simple:
Recognise the problem.
Make the decision.
Execute the procedure.
Deploy the reserve.
Fly the parachute.
Land safely.
So, should you be worried about your parachute failing?
It’s completely normal to think about it before your first skydive.
But a parachute malfunction isn’t something that skydivers simply hope never happens.
It is a scenario that the sport is designed around.
Just as a twin-engine aircraft doesn’t rely on both engines being perfect for every second of every flight, a modern skydiving system doesn’t rely exclusively on the main parachute.
There is a backup.
There are backup systems for the backup.
And, most importantly, there are trained professionals who know what to do when something doesn’t go according to plan.
Skydiving will always involve an element of risk — but modern skydiving is built around managing that risk.
So when you climb to altitude and look out of the aircraft door, remember this:
You’re not jumping with just one parachute and hoping for the best.
You’re jumping with a carefully engineered system designed with redundancy, training and emergency procedures built into every skydive.
Ready to experience skydiving for yourself?
At Thai Sky Adventures, safety is at the heart of every tandem skydive. Our experienced tandem instructors take care of the technical aspects of your jump, allowing you to concentrate on enjoying the incredible experience of freefall and your parachute ride.
If you’ve always wanted to know what it feels like to jump from an aircraft, there’s no better time to experience it for yourself.