Parachuting Trainer Dies After Falling Lacking Parachute in Music City
Federal aviation authorities is looking into the death of a skydiving instructor after he became separated from his student during a dive in Music City, TN.
Police say trainer Justin Fuller "is presumed to have fallen from the sky without a parachute" during the dive on Saturday.
Fuller, 35, appeared to have detached from his client and a dual harness, which links the pair during a dive and includes the safety gear.
A law enforcement aircraft found Fuller's body in a forested zone some time after. Local emergency crews utilized several ladders to reach the middle-aged client who lived through the fall after being trapped on a tree for hours with the backup chute.
Police said three other dives, which occurred near a local airport, were carried out without incident before the deadly incident. The plane 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 man who helped fire crews in the rescue informed a media outlet the student who officials rescued mentioned "he was a first-time jumper, and it was going to be his final one".
Mr Fuller had previously posted about his enthusiasm for instructing people how to parachute.
"Teaching people to parachute has consistently been in my opinion the most satisfying job at the jump site," the instructor wrote in an Instagram post in June.
"Watching them figure it out and start flying their selves is consistently a heartwarming experience. Occasionally though, it can get a little hectic up there when you let someone go for their first time."
That same month he posted images of the damage a skydiving plane he was on saying the aircraft's motor had malfunctioned after departure. All 20 people onboard lived through the incident.
