Skydiving Trainer Dies After Falling Without Safety Gear in Nashville
Federal aviation authorities is investigating the fatality of a skydiving instructor following he got detached from his student during a dive in Nashville, Tennessee.
Police report trainer the instructor "appears to have dropped from the sky without a parachute" during the jump on Saturday.
Fuller, 35 years old, seems to have separated from his student and a dual harness, which links the pair during a dive and contains the parachute.
A law enforcement aircraft found the instructor's remains in a forested zone hours later. Local emergency crews utilized multiple pieces of equipment to reach the middle-aged student who lived through the fall after being stuck on a tree branch for some time with the backup chute.
Police stated three other dives, which took place near a local airport, were successfully completed prior to the fatal fall. The plane from which they leaped also landed safely.
The cause remains unknown how the instructor, an seasoned parachutist, became separated from the protective gear.
A individual who assisted fire crews in the rescue informed a media outlet the student who authorities saved said "it was his first jump, and it was going to be his final one".
The instructor had previously posted about his enthusiasm for teaching others how to skydive.
"Teaching people to skydive has consistently been in my opinion the most rewarding job at the drop zone," Mr Fuller said in an Instagram post in June.
"Observing students figure it out and begin maneuvering their bodies is consistently a touching experience. Occasionally though, it can get a little hectic up there when you release a student for their initial attempt."
During that period he shared images of the wreckage a jump aircraft he was on saying the plane's engine had failed after take off. Every individual aboard survived.
