Parachuting Instructor Dies After Falling Without Parachute in Music City
The Federal Aviation Administration is looking into the death of a skydiving instructor after he got detached from his client during a jump in Music City, TN.
Police say trainer the instructor "is presumed to have fallen from the sky without a parachute" during the dive on the weekend.
The instructor, 35, appeared to have separated from his student and a tandem rig, which connects the two during a dive and includes the parachute.
A law enforcement aircraft located Fuller's body in a wooded area some time after. Local emergency crews utilized several ladders to reach the middle-aged student who lived through the descent after being stuck on a tree branch for some time with the backup chute.
Officials said several additional jumps, which occurred near Nashville's John C Tune airport, were carried out without incident prior to the deadly incident. The plane from which they leaped also touched down without issue.
The cause remains unknown how the instructor, an experienced skydiver, became separated from the safety equipment.
A individual who assisted fire crews in the operation told a media outlet the student who authorities saved mentioned "he was a first-time jumper, and it was going to be his last".
The instructor had previously posted about his passion for teaching others how to parachute.
"Teaching people to skydive has always been in my opinion the most satisfying role at the jump site," Mr Fuller wrote in an Instagram post in June.
"Observing students learn the skills and begin maneuvering their bodies is consistently a touching moment. Sometimes though, it can get a little hectic up there when you let someone go for their first time."
That same month he shared images of the wreckage a jump aircraft he was on saying the aircraft's motor had malfunctioned after departure. Every individual onboard survived.
