Parachuting Trainer Dies After Falling Without Parachute in Music City
Federal aviation authorities is investigating the fatality of a skydiving instructor following he became separated from his student during a dive in Nashville, Tennessee.
Police say instructor the instructor "is presumed to have dropped from the sky without a safety chute" during the dive on Saturday.
The instructor, 35 years old, seems to have detached from his student and a tandem rig, which connects the pair during a dive and includes the safety gear.
A police helicopter located Fuller's body in a wooded area hours later. Local emergency crews utilized multiple pieces of equipment to access the middle-aged client who survived the descent after being trapped on a tree for some time with the backup chute.
Officials stated several additional jumps, which occurred near a local airport, were carried out without incident before the fatal fall. Aircraft from which they leaped also landed safely.
It is unclear how the instructor, an seasoned parachutist, got detached from the safety equipment.
A man who assisted fire crews in the operation informed a media outlet the client who officials rescued mentioned "it was his first jump, and it was going to be his last".
The instructor had previously posted about his passion for teaching others how to skydive.
"Instructing individuals to skydive has consistently been in my opinion the most satisfying role at the drop zone," the instructor said in an Instagram post in June.
"Watching them learn the skills and begin maneuvering their bodies is always a touching moment. Occasionally though, it can become quite chaotic up there when you let someone go for their first time."
During that period he posted images of the wreckage a jump aircraft he was on saying the aircraft's motor had malfunctioned after take off. Every individual aboard survived.
