Parachuting Trainer Dies Following Plummeting Without Safety Gear in Music City
Federal aviation authorities is investigating the death of a parachuting trainer after he became separated from his client during a jump in Music City, TN.
Authorities say trainer Justin Fuller "is presumed to have fallen from the air without a parachute" during the dive on the weekend.
Fuller, 35, appeared to have detached from his student and a dual harness, which connects the pair during a jump and contains the parachute.
A police helicopter found Fuller's body in a wooded area hours later. The Nashville Fire Department utilized several ladders to access the 46-year old client who lived through the fall after being stuck on a tree for some time with the emergency parachute.
Officials said three other dives, which occurred near a local airport, were successfully completed before the fatal fall. Aircraft from which they jumped also touched down without issue.
It is unclear how Mr Fuller, an experienced skydiver, got detached from the safety equipment.
A individual who assisted rescue teams in the operation told a local television station the student who officials saved said "it was his first jump, and it was going to be his final one".
Mr Fuller had recently written about his passion for instructing people how to skydive.
"Instructing individuals to skydive has consistently been in my opinion the most satisfying job at the drop zone," the instructor wrote in an Instagram post in June.
"Observing students figure it out and begin maneuvering their selves is consistently a heartwarming moment. Sometimes though, it can get a little hectic up there when you let someone go for their initial attempt."
That same month he posted photos of the damage a skydiving plane he was on saying the plane's engine had malfunctioned after departure. All 20 people aboard lived through the incident.