Chance of catastrophe is remote because of the extensive safety measures of professional skydiving operations. All parachutes are packed by federally licensed riggers. You also jump with a second parachute in your pack, just in case a problem develops with the first one. It can be assumed that a jumper who reaches 1,200 feet without a canopy is in trouble. Once you are in the air, a ground controller speaks to you over a radio receiver attached to your harness and guides you back to earth.
Nobody expects a first time skydiver to know to pull a ripcord.
This is a static line that is anchored to the cabin floor and deploys your parachute once you are clear of the airplane. With over 121,000 participants making over 2,440,000 jumps per year, this increasing popularity is obvious. Like most sports, skydiving is not one hundred percent risk free. Although with the proper safety precautions, skydiving can prove to be a fairly safe way to satisfy a craving for danger.