How many skydivers die each year, and why? This page brings together the numbers recorded by SFL and the official US figures from the United States Parachute Association (USPA).
Fatalities recorded by SFL, by year
| Year | Fatalities | Countries | Military | Records with known cause | Most common known cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 47 | 17 | 5 | 14 of 28 | Aircraft accident |
| 2025 | 58 | 22 | 10 | 27 of 58 | Canopy collision |
| 2024 | 42 | 20 | 9 | 17 of 42 | Landing – intentional low turn |
| 2023 | 43 | 21 | 7 | 21 of 43 | Landing – intentional low turn |
| 2022 | 60 | 19 | 7 | 19 of 60 | Landing – intentional low turn |
These are fatalities, not records: a crash of a jump aircraft is one record but counts every skydiver who died (pilots are not included). The numbers include unconfirmed records and grow as reports come in. Our list for 2022 is less complete than for later years. Click a year to see every record.
How many people die skydiving each year?
There is no official worldwide count – most countries do not publish one. The best long-running figures come from the United States: USPA counted 16 civilian skydiving deaths in 2025, or 0.46 per 100,000 jumps, after an all-time low of 9 in 2024. In the 1970s the US averaged more than 40 skydiving deaths a year. Worldwide, including military jumps, SFL records several dozen fatalities a year – see the table above.
What causes most skydiving deaths?
Over the last two decades, the largest group of US fatalities has been landing problems under an open, working parachute – above all turns made too close to the ground, often on small, highly loaded canopies. Other common causes are canopy collisions and freefall collisions, no pull or a pull too low, problems with the reserve or with emergency procedures, and medical problems. In our worldwide list, many records still have the cause “Under review”, because public reports often say little about what happened.
Is skydiving getting safer?
Yes, over the long term. USPA reports that the US fatality rate fell from about 11 per 100,000 jumps in 1961 to 0.46 in 2025 – roughly 22 times lower. Better equipment, automatic activation devices and training have all played a part. The rate still varies from year to year.
Why are SFL numbers different from USPA or a national federation?
National figures usually count only civilian jumps in one country. SFL covers the whole world and also lists military jumps, crashes of jump aircraft with skydivers on board and records that are not yet confirmed. Different sources also put accidents in different categories.
Can I compare countries or drop zones?
Not reliably. We do not know how many jumps are made in each country or at each drop zone, and some countries report accidents far more fully than others. A busy drop zone will have more accidents than a small one simply because more people jump there. The list shows numbers of fatalities, not risk.
Sources
USPA: 2025 Fatality Summary, US skydiving fatalities hit record low in 2024. SFL records: the full list.