Skydiving Instructor Dies Following Plummeting Lacking Safety Gear in Music City
Federal aviation authorities is looking into the fatality of a skydiving instructor following he got detached from his student during a dive in Music City, TN.
Authorities say instructor Justin Fuller "is presumed to have dropped from the air without a parachute" during the jump on Saturday.
Fuller, 35, appeared to have separated from his client and a dual harness, which links the pair during a jump and contains the safety gear.
A law enforcement aircraft located the instructor's remains in a wooded area some time after. The Nashville Fire Department utilized multiple pieces of equipment to reach the 46-year old student who lived through the fall after being trapped on a tree for hours with the emergency parachute.
Officials stated three other dives, which occurred near Nashville's John C Tune airport, were successfully completed before the deadly incident. Aircraft from which they jumped also landed safely.
The cause remains unknown how Mr Fuller, an seasoned parachutist, got detached from the protective gear.
A man who helped fire crews in the operation informed a local television station the student who authorities saved mentioned "he was a first-time jumper, and it was going to be his final one".
Mr Fuller had previously posted about his passion for instructing people how to skydive.
"Teaching people to skydive has always been in my view the most rewarding role at the jump site," the instructor said in an social media update in the summer.
"Observing students figure it out and begin maneuvering their bodies is always a heartwarming moment. Occasionally though, it can get a little hectic up there when you release a student for their first time."
That same month he shared photos of the wreckage a skydiving plane he was on noting the plane's engine had malfunctioned after take off. Every individual aboard lived through the incident.