Skydiving safety, in USPA's numbers
Figures from USPA's Safety FAQ, quoted with their year.
Our take written by Freefall Fanatics
USPA reports that its members made an estimated 3.47 million skydives in 2025. Separately, it reports 16 civilian skydiving fatalities in the United States that year. Its member survey also reports 11.8% of members using a reserve parachute and 5.6% reporting an injury that needed medical treatment.
USPA says the vast majority of accidents result from simple human error, not equipment failure. It doesn't compare drop zones on safety, saying a higher number of incidents at a drop zone generally reflects a greater volume of jumps. Its annual incident report appears in Parachutist magazine each April.
Our summary of USPA's figures quoted below. It adds no figures of its own.
USPA's figures
According to this survey, USPA Members made an estimated 3.47 million skydives in 2025.
In 2025, USPA members reported making 3.47 million skydives. In the same year, there were a total of 16 civilian skydiving fatalities in the United States.
In 2025, 11.8% of USPA members reported using their reserve parachute. Some reported more than one reserve use, bringing the estimated total to 4,777 reserve rides, or an estimated 1 reserve use per 726 jumps.
5.6% of members reported that they experienced an injury that required medical treatment in 2025, the most common being ankle injuries from landings.
Figures as USPA's Safety FAQ printed them on October 14; verify the current figures on USPA's page.
Causes
Many think that equipment failure causes most skydiving accidents, but the reality is that the vast majority are a result of simple human error.
Comparing drop zones
Individual decisions and experience levels play a much larger role in safety than the drop zone itself. Generally, a higher number of incidents at a drop zone reflects a greater volume of jumps rather than a lower level of safety. As such, USPA focuses on the underlying issues of individual incidents rather than comparing the safety of each drop zone.
Each April, USPA publishes an in-depth report on skydiving incidents and skydiving-related aircraft incidents in Parachutist magazine, which are available under the Back-Issues tab at Parachutist.com