ORIGINAL: NavyDeerHunter

1. Always wear the safety harness and safety check your stand.
2. Learn how to use the stand before you take it in the woods for your first hunt. Find a place to practice with it and climb several times before you hunt. Take a friend with you just in case there are problems.
3. Make sure that the top and bottom sections are somehow secured together. It's happened before...and it'll happen again that the bottom section will not be locked in tight enough and will fall away (usually happens while climbing). If they are not secured together, you have just lost your ability to climb.
4. If you happen to fall and are "flailing" as you put it. Hopefully your stand did not fall to the ground and you can somehow regain use of it to help you get to the ground. If not, hopefully you have a cell phone or radio in your pocket and can call someone for help. Last resort, wrap your legs and one arm around the tree in a bear hug and cut the line with your free hand and then bear hug your way down the tree. Just don't do this if you think you're not strong enough to keep a good grip. Better to just hang there till someone finds and can help you.
5. That in mind, good idea to make sure that someone knows where you're hunting and when to expect you back so that they can get help if you're not back within a reasonable amount of time.