Sports and recreation
Wingsuit flying
Estimated acute risk associated with a single wingsuit skydive (aircraft-launched, not BASE jumping).
Base risk estimate
60.0 micromorts per jumps
Population-level estimate. Not a personal prediction.
Assumptions
Assumes an experienced wingsuit pilot (typically 200+ prior skydives before wingsuit qualification per USPA guidelines) performing an aircraft-launched wingsuit jump under standard conditions. Does not apply to wingsuit proximity BASE jumping.
Limitations
USPA does not publish a formal per-jump wingsuit fatality rate. This estimate is derived from proportional incident data and involves significant uncertainty. Risk varies substantially by experience level, suit type, proximity flying, and jump conditions. Proximity wingsuit BASE flying carries substantially higher risk than aircraft-launched wingsuit skydiving.
Source notes
USPA tracks all fatalities among member skydivers and publishes annual safety statistics. Wingsuit incidents are noted separately in USPA incident analyses. USPA data indicates that wingsuit jumps represent approximately 1–3% of total annual USPA jumps but account for a disproportionate share of fatalities, reflecting elevated per-jump risk relative to standard skydiving (~6 µmt/jump). USPA does not publish a per-jump wingsuit fatality rate directly. The estimate of 60 µmt/jump is derived from USPA incident data patterns suggesting wingsuit fatality rates are approximately 5–15× higher than standard skydiving per jump, placing aircraft-launched wingsuit between standard skydiving (6 µmt/jump) and BASE jumping (430 µmt/jump; Westman et al. 2008). Mei-Dan O et al. (Wilderness Environ Med. 2013;24(4):321–7, PMID 24238216) analyzed wingsuit BASE jumping fatalities specifically — that paper covers BASE-launched wingsuit only and is not directly applicable to aircraft-launched wingsuit skydiving. No peer-reviewed per-jump fatality rate specific to aircraft-launched wingsuit has been published.
Last reviewed
6/11/2026
How does this compare?
Activities with a similar per-unit risk level. Units vary — these are approximate comparisons.
Related activities
RiskLens is an educational tool. It uses population-level estimates to help explain relative risk. It is not a prediction of your personal risk and should not be used as medical, legal, financial, or safety advice.