Skydiving or parachuting from an aircraft consists of the free-fall and the paracute ride. Skydiving was developed by the military and now has become competitive sport using high-speed ram air canopies. The skydiver freefalls at terminal velocity until the parachute is opened and landed safely. Aerial maneuvers such as turns, loops, dives and lift are possible in what is known also as Freeflight. Skydiving fatalities are rare, but each year world-wide a number of people are hurt and killed resulting from human error or equipment malfunctions.
