How Many People Die from Skydiving?
Skydiving is a dangerous sport—but it’s not nearly as dangerous as you may have imagined. How many people die from skydiving? According to the United States Parachute Association, there were just 0.28 fatalities per 100,000 jumps in 2021. In other words, there was roughly one fatality for every 400,000 jumps that took place in the previous year—or ten fatalities total, out of the year’s 3.57 million jumps.
Skydiving Deaths Per Year
Whether you’re worried about a loved one or you’re mentally preparing for an adventure that you’ve always wanted to take, it’s important to be clear about how many people die from skydiving. However, 2021 was the sport’s least deadly year on record—and the number of skydiving deaths per year has shrunk consistently over time. Here, you can see the improvement that was made over the last ten years:
- 2021: 0.28 fatalities per 100,000 jumps
- 2020: 0.39 fatalities per 100,000 jumps
- 2019: 0.45 fatalities per 100,000 jumps
- 2018: 0.39 fatalities per 100,000 jumps
- 2017: 0.75 fatalities per 100,000 jumps
- 2016: 0.66 fatalities per 100,000 jumps
- 2015: 0.60 fatalities per 100,000 jumps
- 2014: 0.75 fatalities per 100,000 jumps
- 2013: 0.75 fatalities per 100,000 jumps
- 2012: 0.61 fatalities per 100,000 jumps
The skydiving community feels the pain of every loss that takes place during a jump, and efforts to improve the safety of the sport are ongoing. These efforts have been successful, since skydiving deaths are down from a rate of 1.62 deaths per 100,000 jumps in 1998, and down even further from a rate of 3.72 deaths per 100,000 jumps in 1981.
Is Skydiving Safe?
As an extreme sport, skydiving in Bozeman or anywhere else isn’t completely safe. With that said, your odds of surviving unscathed are far from terrible. Compare the rate of skydiving deaths in 2021—roughly one in 400,000—to the likelihood of being killed in a car crash at some point during a given year: roughly one in 8,527 in 2020, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. You would need to jump roughly 46 times to take as big of a risk as you take just by spending time inside a moving vehicle on a regular basis.
Plus, the risk of dying in a skydiving accident is even lower when you’re jumping with a partner. Our locations in Boise, Bozeman, and Coeur d’Alene all offer tandem jumping experiences, where you’re paired with an instructor who has completed all of the necessary courses with a certified jump school.
The benefits of jumping with a trained instructor should be more or less self-explanatory, but it bears emphasizing that tandem skydiving is roughly 2.5 times safer than solo skydiving. Fatalities occur at a rate of roughly one in 500,000 in tandem jumps, or at a rate of roughly one in 220,000 with solo jumps.
Book Your Tandem Skydiving Experience with DZONE®
If you still have questions about skydiving safety or best practices, don’t hesitate to reach out to the team at one of our skydiving locations near Bozeman, MT or Boise, ID. If you’re interested in learning more, take advantage of our many articles and guides before you book your appointment. If you’re wondering How Scary Is Skydiving, we have something for you to check out!
Book Your Skydiving Experience at DZONE®
Reading about how to skydive is one thing—experiencing the jump is another! If you’re ready to get first-hand experience with skydiving equipment and best practices, don’t wait to book your appointment! While you’re here, you can get an even better sense of how skydiving works by watching videos of experienced jumpers who were once just like you!