Nashville skydiving instructor dead after falling without parachute

A Tennessee skydiving instructor died after a tandem jump went wrong over the weekend.

Local media outlets identified the instructor as 35-year-old Justin Fuller. His body was found “in the clearing of a wooded area off Ashland City Highway,” the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said Saturday evening on X.

The student Fuller was jumping with was “lodged in a tree with an open parachute” and is expected to be okay after being rescued by fire crews, police said.

“This skydiver became separated at the plane from a tandem rig with an instructor,” an X post said. “Three other skydivers who jumped moments earlier landed safely. The plane landed safely at Tune Airport.”

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Fuller, whose nickname was “Spidey,” according to local FOX 17, had reportedly accomplished more than 5,000 jumps and trained military personnel.

The local TV station said sources said the harness equipment found with the surviving student was not faulty or broken. 

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A Nashville fire spokesperson said the parachutist was rescued after suffering “only minimal, non-life-threatening injuries.” (X/@NashvilleFD)

The jump was coordinated by Go Skydive Nashville, media outlets reported. Its website states that its tandem instructors “are highly trained and USPA-certified professionals” who “must undergo extensive training and certification before even attempting a tandem skydive with a real student.”

The website does say that the instructor “wears two parachutes, a big, stable main parachute and a reserve parachute,” while the student wears “a specially-designed tandem skydiving harness that securely attaches you to your instructor.”

Nashville fire crews set up a tall ladder to rescue a suspended parachutist after a skydiving tandem jump went wrong on Oct. 4, 2025.  (X/@NashvilleFD)

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident, police said. The agency told Fox News Digital via email that it has “limited communications” due to the government shutdown.  

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“The Nashville Fire Department commends the outstanding work, ingenuity, and strategy displayed by our personnel during yesterday’s complex high-angle rescue,” a statement to Fox News Digital said.

“Faced with extraordinary circumstances, our teams worked seamlessly and creatively to reach and free the suspended parachutist, who was able to walk away with only minimal, non-life-threatening injuries after being stranded for several hours.”