Parachute Landing Techniques

Landing Position

• Assume your landing position 100 feet above the ground. Keep your feet and knees pressed tightly together. Bend you knees slightly, and point your feet towards the ground. Keep your muscles tense so your legs don't collapse when you hit the ground. In this position, your legs constitute a flexible shock break, which is much safer than landing with your legs apart. Keep your hands on your parachute harnesses, not in front of your body to brace your fall, to avoid fracturing your wrists.

Select a Landing Spot

• Maintain focus on the horizon, so that you do not panic as the ground approaches. Dispel anxiety by searching for a soft landing spot, such as a grassy field. If you are headed towards hard ground such as a granite slab, you should still follow these instructions, as they are even more important when landing on a firm surface.

Flare the Parachute

• Flare the parachute out for a stall, so that you land at the lowest possible speed. You must be very careful in timing this, since you don't want to stall high off the ground and drop, and you don't want to crash into the ground before you stall. Your flight instructor should teach you how to stall while explaining the equipment.

Execute Proper Falling Technique

• Bend, drop and roll with your momentum as you land without trying to break into a run. Follow a specific pattern as you fall to minimize injury. Try to touch down with the balls of your fee first. Then roll onto the muscular part of your calf, then thigh, then buttocks, and finally onto the lateral muscles of your chest. By the time you roll onto your chest, the impact will be greatly diminished.

Perform Rolling Fall

• When your feet touch the ground, twist your upper body in the direction the wind is blowing. The safest landings occur going forward into the wind at a low speed. If you land downwind, your speed is much higher. Often, your parachuting team will have a person on the ground with an arrow, indicating which way you should attempt to fall. Once your feet are on the ground, press your knees together. Bend and twist so that your calf and thigh muscles make contact with the ground.

Protect your Head

• Keep your head down and your neck muscles tense, protecting your head. Shout or exhale as your chest hits the ground. This will reduce internal impact. Keep your arms bent around your face as you roll in the direction of the wind.

Detach Your Parachute

• Once your landing roll is complete, quickly detach and disable your parachute so that it does not drag you.

Practice

• Practice jumping, landing and rolling off of objects about five feet off the ground so you are prepared when the time comes to land your parachute. Practice these landing techniques with a certified jumpmaster before executing them.