Largest head-down vertical skydiving formation by night

The largest vertical head-down skydiving formation at night involved 42 skydivers over Eloy in Arizona, USA, on 22 March 2024. The attempt, dubbed MAX Pyro 2.0, was organized by Skydive Arizona (USA).

The 42 skydivers – who hailed from 10 different countries – took four attempts to secure the record. They jumped from two aircraft flying at 16,500 ft and were equipped with oxygen, glow sticks and strobe lights, and wore glowing flightsuits covered in colour-adjustable LEDs. The majority of divers also opted to wear pyrotechnic cannisters strapped to their ankles, filling the night sky with a glittering cascade of light as they locked in their 42-way upside-down formation.

A smaller team of 21 divers returned the following evening to attempt night vertical records for two-, three-, four- and five-point sequences. In sequential dives, the freefalling group makes one formation before splitting off and reforming to create another (“two-point” means two different formations). Owing to the weather, only one two-point sequence was successful.

As of 12 December 2024, both attempts were still under review by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).