Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes.

For human skydiving, there is often a phase of free fall (the skydiving segment), where the parachute has not yet been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal velocity.

In cargo parachuting, the parachute descent may begin immediately, such as a parachute-airdrop in the lower atmosphere of Earth, or it may be significantly delayed. For example, in a planetary atmosphere, where an object is descending "under parachute" following atmospheric entry from space, may occur only after the hypersonic entry phase and initial deceleration that occurs due to friction with the thin upper atmosphere.

The first parachute jump in history was made on 22 October 1797 by Frenchman André-Jacques Garnerin above Parc Monceau, Paris. He used a silk parachute to descend approximately 3,000 feet (910 m) from a hot air balloon.^{[citation needed]}

Parachuting is performed as a recreational activity and a competitive sport, and is widely considered an extreme sport due to the risks involved. In 2018, there were 3.3 million jumps in the US. Modern militaries utilize parachuting for the deployment of airborne forces and supplies. Special operations forces commonly employ parachuting, especially free-fall parachuting, as a method of insertion. Occasionally, forest firefighters, known as "smokejumpers" in the United States, use parachuting as a means of rapidly inserting themselves near forest fires in especially remote or otherwise inaccessible areas.^{[citation needed]}

Manually exiting an aircraft and parachuting to safety has been widely used by aviators (especially military aviators and aircrew) and passengers to escape an aircraft that could not otherwise land safely. While this method of escape is relatively rare in modern times, it was occasionally used in World War I by German military aviators, and utilized extensively throughout the air wars of World War II. In modern times, the most common means of escape from an aircraft in distress is via an ejection seat. Said system is usually operated by the pilot, aircrew member, or passenger by engaging an activation device manually. In most designs, this will lead to the seat being propelled out of and away from the aircraft, carrying the occupant with it, by means of either an explosive charge or a rocket propulsion system. Once clear of the aircraft, the ejection seat will deploy a parachute, although some older models entrusted this step to manual activation by the seat's occupant.^{[citation needed]}

In the U.S. during the 1970s, the sport averaged 42.5 fatalities annually. In the 1980s, the average dropped to 34.1, and in the 1990s, the average decreased to 32.3 deaths per year. Between 2000 and 2009, the average dropped to 25.8 and over the eight years after 2009, the annual average declined to 22.4 fatalities (roughly 7.5 fatalities per one million jumps). In 2017, members of one organization, the United States Parachute Association (USPA) reported 2,585 skydiving injuries sufficiently severe to require resort to a medical care facility.

In the US and in most of the western world, skydivers are required to wear two parachutes. The reserve parachute must be periodically inspected and repacked (whether used or not) by a certified parachute rigger (in the US, an FAA certificated parachute rigger every 180 days). Many skydivers use an automatic activation device (AAD) that opens the reserve parachute at a predetermined altitude if it detects that the skydiver is still in free fall. Depending on the country, AADs are often mandatory for new jumpers, and/or required for all jumpers regardless of their experience level. Some skydivers wear a visual altimeter, and some use audible altimeters fitted to their helmets.^{[citation needed]}