Parachuting Instructor Killed Following Falling Lacking Safety Gear in Nashville

Emergency Scene Emergency Operation
Nashville Emergency Services reported it used multiple equipment and a rescue mechanism to save the client

Federal aviation authorities is investigating the fatality of a parachuting trainer after he got detached from his student during a jump in Music City, TN.

Authorities report trainer the instructor "appears to have dropped from the air without a safety chute" during the jump on the weekend.

Fuller, 35, appeared to have detached from his student and a tandem rig, which links the pair during a jump and contains the parachute.

A police helicopter found the instructor's remains in a wooded area some time after. Local emergency crews used several ladders to reach the middle-aged client who survived the descent after being stuck on a tree for hours with the backup chute.

Police stated several additional jumps, which took place near Nashville's John C Tune airport, were successfully completed before the fatal fall. The plane from which they jumped also landed safely.

It is unclear how the instructor, an seasoned parachutist, became separated from the safety equipment.

A man who assisted fire crews in the operation informed a local television station the client who authorities rescued mentioned "it was his first jump, and it was going to be his last".

The instructor had previously posted about his enthusiasm for instructing people how to parachute.

"Instructing individuals to skydive has consistently been in my opinion the most satisfying role at the drop zone," Mr Fuller said in an social media update in June.

"Watching them learn the skills and start flying their bodies is always a heartwarming moment. Sometimes though, it can become quite chaotic up there when you let someone go for their first time."

That same month he shared photos of the damage a skydiving plane he was on noting the plane's engine had failed after departure. Every individual onboard survived.

Sarah Peterson
Sarah Peterson

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