Every skydiving rig is equipped with both a main and a reserve parachute. As a tandem skydiver, you are with a trained professional who knows how to handle a malfunction and deploy the reserve chute if it’s necessary. Silicon Valley Skydiving takes your safety very seriously. As an AFF student, you are taught how to deploy your main chute on time and stable, and to recognize what a malfunction looks like as well as how to deal with the malfunction in a timely manner. If the malfunction is the type that cannot be dealt with, you are taught how to cut-away your main parachute and deploy your reserve parachute, which is extremely unlikely to have a malfunction. According to the USPA, only 1 out of 1,000 parachute systems will ever encounter a situation requiring reserve deployment. Even though they’re rarely used, the reserve (backup) canopy must be inspected and repacked only by an FAA-certified rigger every 180 days.
What if I forget to deploy my parachute?
All of Silicon Valley Skydiving’s rigs are equipped with a device called an Automatic Activation Device (AAD). This device constantly calculates your speed and altitude during a skydive and if you are going too fast too low, it will deploy the emergency parachute automatically.
So, we’ve got this?
Yep. Statistically, you are more likely to get an injury on your way to the drop zone in a car accident, or be struck by lightning while winning the Lotto. (Don’t do those things! Except win the lottery. If you win, have we talked about our AFF solo certificate course?)
We won’t kid you. Skydiving is an inherently dangerous sport, particularly if the proper precautions aren’t met, as are many things in life. But like those, if you pay attention to what you’re doing, stay aware of the hazards, and prepare for the possibility of them, you’ll either avoid the hazards or know how to handle them when they do arise. And safety is priority NUMBER 1. That’s Silicon Valley Skydiving’s stand. Are you in good hands?