By law (FAA regulations), all intentional parachute jumps must be made with a single harness, dual parachute system with both a main canopy AND a reserve canopy. In other words, you have a second (or spare) canopy in case the first one fails to open properly.

However, it must be noted that the technology utilized in today's sport parachuting equipment is light years ahead of the old military surplus gear used in the '60s and '70s. The canopies are drastically different from the classic G.I. Joe round parachutes. The materials are stronger, lighter and last longer, the packing procedures are simpler, the deployment sequence is much more refined, etc.

The reserve canopies are even more carefully designed and packed. The reserve parachute must be inspected and repacked every 120 days by an FAA rated parachute Rigger - even if it has not been used during that time.

The student's main canopy is always packed either by a rigger or under a rigger's direct supervision by experienced packers.

There are also additional safety features employed to ensure canopy deployment such as Automatic Activation Devices (AAD) and Reserve Static Lines (RSL) which add still more layers of safety.

    Skydiving is a high-speed aerial sport that exposes its participants to the real risk of injury and death. Each year in the U.S. about 35 people die while making approximately 2 million parachute jumps. Other skydivers are sometimes killed while riding aboard jump aircraft.

    Analysis of skydiving accidents show that most are caused by jumpers who make mistakes of procedure or judgment. Contrary to popular belief, very few skydiving accidents or injuries are caused by random equipment failure.
Those skydivers who are trained well, who stay current and who take a conservative approach to the sport are involved in very few accidents and suffer few -- if any -- injuries.

    Some people prefer not to expose themselves to significant risks, while others accept the risk in exchange for the enjoyment the activity offers.

    Most parachute centers require that each customer sign a legally binding assumption-of-risk agreement. The document makes it clear that the sport has its risks and that the jumper is electing to jump in spite of those risks.

Safety and risk are not the same things. Risk is measured. Safety is judged. Safety is the personal or societal acceptance of a given risk.

All events in skydiving could be assigned some risk value, based on the definition just given. The risk value should be based on data collected over many years or test drops. In essence, the risk value for an event should be based on a large set of measurements and observations. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Perceptions

Risk assessment is often based on subjective perceptions of risk. Events that are voluntary and within your control are given higher risk values than events that are mandatory and beyond your control. (Breathing air is less riskier than skydiving.)

System complexity will increase risks. Complex systems are harder to understand. They fail in complex ways. Sometimes a failed or degraded system is difficult to detect. The more complex a system is the more important it becomes to understand the system, how it works, how it fails and learn preventative and corrective actions.

Assessments

Risk values depend on "how often" (probability) and "how bad" (severity). The frequency and danger of an event comes from a full and comprehensive understanding of a system. Effective and accurate risk assessments should be obtained by learning about the system's operational modes. The "how"s and "why"s of a system must be learned. System performance must be observable and recognizable. Performance must also be continually monitored, so that a degrading system is detected quickly. How a system fails should also be understood as well as how to recognize a failure or degraded system performance. Failures can arise from mechanical, human or environmental factors. Risks can be reduced further with preventative or corrective action plans.

Risk and Skydiving

Events in skydiving can be assigned a risk value. The risk is based on a through knowledge of a parachute system. An understanding of "which handle does what", "how parachutes deploy and inflate", "flight characteristics", "weather conditions", etc. will reduce risks. Methods to detect malfunctions will reduce risks: "Look at the parachute", "check your decent rate", "Spit -if it goes down you're probably okay, if it goes up it's a malfunction." These techniques monitor system performance. A proper course of action needs to be taken to reduce risks in the event of a degraded or malfunctioned system. Alternative plans or emergency procedures reduce risk by providing another way to escape injury.

Effective risk assessment and risk reduction comes from understanding parachute systems, knowing the proper roles of the controls, recognizing degrading system performance and having preventive and corrective plans.