I oftentimes like riding skyrails and skytrams and wonder what would happen if something went wrong and I began falling, carrying nothing but a coat/backpack or suitcase or luggage roller or something.
Let’s say you’re above water, though. Maximize chances!
You’d probably want to dive in like a swan dive, so that the smallest possible area hits the water, minimizing the braking effect (it isn’t falling that kills you but the deceleration). Hopefully, you know how to swim (you’d go pretty far under) and aren’t weighed down. Of course, you’d also want to avoid the tram, etc, falling on you, unless you just fell out*.
*Staying in and jumping at the moment of impact won’t help, and if you are stuck inside, lay flat on the floor, water might as well be concrete though with a large surface area. Height and fall time may also be an issue.
Incidentally, people have survived (some with only minor injuries) after falling as much as 22,000 feet.
Hope this is not one of those ‘need answer fast’ threads 
No I just have an irrational fear of falling and wonder what I’d do in that situation.
Sometimes I feel like the best bet is to hold a random item and shove it down as you’re about to hit the water so you help break the surface tension first.
Breaking the surface tension isn’t going to get you anywhere. Read this thread for details.
Very interesting, would have thought the surface tension mattered at least somewhat
Looks like it’s just pencil-diving all the way
Before 9/11, on the rare occasions that I flew, I packed 2 cargo parachutes in my backpack (reinforced binding points with D-rings). I realized it would be a half-assed parachute and might not even work, but any chance greater than zero had to be good. I did get some quizzical looks from the security folks, but never got stopped. Today I’m sure I would get the express charter to gitmo.
Anyway, as to the OP, I vaguely recall that if you’re falling from higher than 100ft or so, water isn’t much better than concrete. I saw that on a documentary about base jumpers and one had just that experience. He had multiple severe breaks in both legs. So my choice would be to lie as flat as possible to distribute the force of impact.
No, no, no. If that water’s really as hard as concrete, you should try to land in basically the same way as you would on concrete; that is, feet first. You’re going to break bones. That’s totally unavoidable. Therefore, you sacrifice your legs and use them to break your fall as much as possible, letting them take the damage so that your internal organs and your head take the least. If you swan dive, your arms will take the first impact, followed shortly by your head, and you’ll die. If you’re flat on your face, you’re talking about an epic belly flop. Your internal organs will be mashed by the sudden deceleration, as will your brain. Your best chance is to sacrifice those legs, allow your lower body to absorb that impact and spread out that deceleration. That will allow you the most penetration into the water, which is your ultimate goal.
Upon further beer and reflection, I might have to go with the swan dive. If any small chance of survival comes with a side order of horrible pain, disfigurement and other assorted suffering, it could be a tough call. 
Prayer is going to be as effective as anything, really.
But to maximize my odds, I think I’d take most of the fall “lying down” (ha ha) with arms and legs spread, to maximize wind resistance and keep speed as low as possible. Then, shortly before hitting the water, I’d turn and try to hit feet first.
I think the pencil dive(feet first, arms by your side and your feet pointed) is safer. It is recommended for cliff diving, at least. http://dsc.discovery.com/adventure/how-to-be-safe-when-cliff-diving.html
Im not sure how well it would work with water, but the parachute landing fall technique has saved people who fell to earth. Im on my phone with no time for a link but im sure the info is out there.
While breaking the surface tension doesn’t really do anything as you are not breaking it but just deforming, introducing air into the water through air bubbles or waves so you don’t hit a flat surface has seemed to help.
This has been demonstrated on a show that goes around searching for superhuman abilities (I forget the name), and analyze the claims. One person claimed to have a superhuman ability to highdive into very shallow water. What they concluded was his ability was not superhuman, but a learned skill. What he would do is have his hands hit the water first creating waves and airspaces in the water. Then when his belly flop hit it didn’t hit a solid surface allowing much more deceleration time and plenty of space for the water to get out of the way, at least initially.
I think this is probably the best bet, at least for surviving the fall, but of course you’re not even close to out of the woods yet.
If you survive the impact, now you’re a couple dozen feet underwater with broken legs, possibly a broken pelvis, maybe even a broken back, and you have to get to the surface and keep yourself afloat for who knows how long before help arrives, if ever. You’re most likely already dead, it’s just going to take a lot longer.
Personally I’d rather just die on impact.
Are you talking about monorails and cable cars? If so, you’re falling from, what, 100-200 feet? You’ll be falling for a few seconds at most. Time enough to scream, but not much else.
My husband is a paratrooper. He once ran into a truck during a jump and escaped with only bruises by landing early and rolling down the hill into the truck, planting his feet against the door. The door was slightly dented, but he was fine.
In the Army, they are trained to land with the balls of their feet instead of on their toes. If you land on your toes, you will likely pitch forward and hit the ground with your face. Land on the balls of your feet, so that your ass hits before your face does. At jump school, a classmate of my husband landed toes first, then hit his head so hard he passed out. His parachute dragged him forward, leaving his face a bloody mess.
It is best to try to land on a hill, then roll down that hill. Water, depending on the height, can be more dangerous than a hill. Your best bet is a hill with snow. Bushes and trees can also slow your fall.
If you do fall out of a plane, try not to fall out of a plane.
I thought the recommendation was to land unevenly, so as to spread the impact. Feet first, but angled to the side, so that you successively break your ankle, your knee, your hip, your elbow, and your shoulder, but hopefully not your head.
I used to do a lot of skydiving; I was a certified jumpmaster for several years. The military trains a little differently than sport parachutists- partly because the equipment is different, partly because paratroopers are usually carrying gear with them, partly because they’re the military!
We trained first-time jumpers to land with feet & knees together, knees slightly bent and roll to the side to distribute the impact along your body, as Tom Tildrum described.
If you’re falling a great distance (thousands of feet), your best bet is to get into a spreadeagle, belly-to-earth position to minimize your speed, then near the ground “stand up” and hit feet first, as dracoi described. It’s easier said than done, though. It takes a fair amount of practice to control your body in freefall that way.
Regarding the hypothetical in the OP, if you’re falling from a ski lift, tram, bridge etc. where the distance is only a few hundred feet, you won’t have time to do much and you won’t be reaching terminal velocity anyway. If you can, get your feet under you so your legs take the impact. If you’re landing in water keep your legs stiff and your toes pointed. If you’re landing on solid ground keep your knees slightly bent and roll to the side.
Or just curl up into a fetal position. This gives you your best opportunity to kiss your ass goodbye.