According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, the instructor became separated from a tandem harness that was supposed to connect him to a student during the jump. In tandem skydives, the instructor is responsible for operating the parachute and ensuring the safety of both jumpers.
In this case, however, the instructor fell without being attached to the equipment. The student, remarkably, survived and was later rescued from a tree by emergency responders.
“Fire Department rescuers have just brought down a skydiver who was stuck in a tree with an open parachute near the 4500 block of Ashland City Highway,” the police announced on X. “He will be okay. This skydiver became separated from a tandem rig with an instructor. The instructor is believed to have fallen without a parachute and has not been located.”
Three other skydivers who jumped earlier landed safely, and the plane later touched down at Tune Airport without issues.
Not long after, police confirmed the discovery of the instructor’s body. “An MNPD helicopter crew has located the 35-year-old instructor deceased in a clearing off Ashland City Highway,” the department stated.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched an investigation into the fatal incident.
Photos shared by the Nashville Fire Department showed the tense rescue of the surviving student, who was suspended high in the trees. Firefighters used ladders and a pulley system to bring him down safely.
The department reported: “Our rescuer reached the parachute jumper, freed him from the harness, and helped him descend using a pulley system. The patient was awake, alert, and stable after being trapped for hours and was taken to the hospital as a precaution.”