What happens with a main canopy malfunction, which altitudes apply and why cutaway and reserve are never a self-study topic, but trained with an AFF instructor.
The honest answer up front: cutaway and reserve are not a topic you teach yourself from an article. The emergency procedure is trained on the ground with an instructor in AFF and student training, and USPA explicitly advises planning your training with an instructor [1]. So this guide gives only an overview: what it means, why it matters and what your path to it looks like.
For perspective: a malfunction is rare. A systematic review of more than 62 million jumps finds fewer than one fatality per 100,000 jumps, and serious injuries needing hospital care in fewer than 2 in 10,000 [6]. What stands out among fatalities is the role of human error, including failing to deploy the reserve correctly when the main fails [3].
That is the flip side of the overview: anyone who tries to remember only when it happens has lost. That is why the routine is trained until it is a reflex.
There is no copy-this recipe here. Instead of a procedure you get the learning path your instructor takes you through.
USPA distinguishes two types: with a total malfunction the main does not open at all or not yet (for example, pilot chute in tow), with a partial malfunction it is open but not landable (for example twisted lines, streamers) [1]. The difference determines how your instructor teaches the response.
USPA names a decision altitude of no lower than 2,500 feet (about 760 m) for students and A-licence holders and a "hard deck" of 1,000 feet (about 300 m): above it you cut away and deploy the reserve, below it you deploy the reserve and land both canopies [1][7]. Your association or school may set different numbers. Always check what applies to you.
The DFV handbook provides a "behaviour in special cases" briefing (emergency actions in and at the aircraft plus AFF-specific situations) [2]. You practise the handles, the order and the response together with your instructor, not alone and not from a video.
In the briefing, instructor and student walk through situations so that the decision question ("which malfunction is this, where is my altitude?") is not first asked in the air [2]. Milestone: you answer your instructor's questions without hesitation, and they give you the go-ahead.
Even with an open reserve you need a plan. USPA describes special landing situations for this, such as two open canopies [7]. Ask your instructor explicitly to show you that part.
This guide is an overview. It explains and motivates, it does not replace training or supervised instruction.
Ask your instructor whether they will play through scenarios in real time, as the DFV AFF briefing provides [2]. Going through situations out loud ("I see X, my altitude is Y, so I do Z") stores the link between perception and action. That is exactly what counts under stress when working memory shrinks [4].
The sources read here do not give a single figure. A systematic review gives an injury rate of 0.044% and a fatality rate of 0.0011% of jumps [6]. Experienced jumpers, students and tandem passengers face different risks, and modern systems have reduced failure sources.
A distinction is made between total and partial main malfunctions [1]. How you respond depends on type and altitude and is practised on the ground with an instructor in AFF. This guide deliberately contains no procedure.
You learn the procedure in training, and your instructor explains in which cases it is up to you. AFF equipment also has an activation device on the reserve [2]. It is a safety net, not a replacement for training.
USPA names a hard deck of 1,000 feet (about 300 m): below it the reserve is deployed and both canopies are landed [1][7]. Exceptions and exact rules are learned at school. Your association's rules are what count.
Learning Back Fly: Back Flying as Your Freefly Entry