Answers about how the Skydiving Fatality List is compiled, what the numbers mean and how to report a correction. For how and why the list exists, see About.
About the list
What is the Skydiving Fatality List?
A worldwide, searchable record of skydiving fatalities, kept for safety education and remembrance. Each record describes what happened and, where possible, what the rest of us can learn from it. SFL is an independent, non-commercial project, not affiliated with USPA, FAI or any national federation.
What is included?
Fatalities on parachute jumps from aircraft anywhere in the world: sport, student, tandem, work, demonstration and military jumps, including wingsuit jumps from helicopters. Crashes of jump aircraft with skydivers on board are listed as one record per crash. Indoor wind tunnel, paragliding and mountain or BASE jumps are not included; BASE jumps are covered by the BASE Fatality List.
Where does SFL get its information?
Only from public sources: USPA annual fatality summaries, national air accident investigation bodies, federation investigation reports, coroners, drop zone statements and news media. Many records for 2022 and later started from the community list at r/SkydiveFatalityList. Each record page links the sources it is based on.
Why do some records have no source?
Some records come only from the community list and no public report has been found yet. They are marked “Unconfirmed” and say so on the record page. We publish them so the list is as complete as possible. If you know a news report or an official document, please send us the link.
How often is the list updated?
New records are added once a report has been checked, and existing records are updated when an investigation is published or a new source appears, so dates, causes and status can change. Reports from readers are one of our most important sources: if an accident is missing or a record is out of date, please tell us.
What do “Unconfirmed”, “Partially verified” and “Verified” mean?
Unconfirmed: reported by the media, by a single source or only by the community; details may still change. Partially verified: supported by an official or federation source, such as a USPA summary or a national accident report. Verified: confirmed by an official investigation or by the drop zone or federation concerned.
How is the cause of a record chosen?
Causes follow the categories USPA uses in its fatality summaries. When a USPA summary or an official report describes the accident, we use its finding. When only media reports exist, we choose the category from what they describe; if they do not say what happened, the record stays “Under review”. A record can move to another category when an investigation is published.
Why are there no names?
Like the USPA fatality summaries, SFL describes what happened, not who it happened to. Names are not published, not even on request, because we cannot verify who is entitled to give that consent.
About the numbers
Why are SFL numbers different from USPA’s?
USPA counts civilian skydiving deaths in the United States, once a year. SFL covers the whole world, includes military jumps and records that are not yet confirmed, and is updated as reports come in. For US records our categories follow the USPA summary wherever we can match a record to it, so differences for the US come mainly from timing and from records USPA does not cover, such as military jumps.
Why are jump-aircraft crashes listed but not counted?
As in the USPA statistics, skydivers killed when the jump aircraft crashes are treated as aircraft passengers, so they are left out of SFL statistics. Each crash is still listed as one record showing how many skydivers died (pilots are not listed). Jumpers struck by or caught on the aircraft during a jump are counted.
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. See Statistics for yearly totals.
Using and correcting the list
Can I use SFL data?
Yes, for non-commercial purposes such as safety training, research and journalism. SFL’s records, descriptions and statistics are licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0: credit “Skydiving Fatality List (skydivingfatalitylist.org)” and link to the record or list you used. For commercial use, please ask us. Please do not use the data to rank or single out drop zones.
A record is missing or wrong. How can I tell you?
Use the Report an incident form. Please include a link to a news report or an official document if you have one. Every report is read by a person before anything changes on the list. Family and friends can also ask us to correct a record or remove details.