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Skydiving instructor dies after being separated from student, officials say
The student, who had minor injuries, was rescued after being lodged in a tree in Nashville. The instructor was “presumed to have fallen from the sky without a parachute,” police said.
A skydiving instructor was found dead in a wooded area in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday after he became separated at the plane from his student, who was rescued alive from a nearby tree, police said.
The student was found “lodged in a tree with an open parachute” in the woods off the Ashland City Highway, northwest of downtown Nashville, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a statement.
The student “was able to walk away with only minimal, non-life-threatening injuries after being stranded for several hours,” the Nashville Fire Department, which rescued the student, said in a statement.
The 35-year-old instructor was “presumed to have fallen from the sky without a parachute” and was found dead off the same highway, police said.
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Authorities did not provide any further information about the episode, including how the two had become separated or their identities.
“Three other sky divers who jumped moments earlier landed safely,” police said, noting that the plane had landed safely at John C. Tune Airport in Nashville.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating. It did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment Sunday.
The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority confirmed by email that a plane operated by Go Skydive Nashville, which is based at the John C. Tune Airport, was involved.
Go Skydive Nashville did not respond immediately to an email and phone call seeking comment Sunday.
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But in a statement to the local NBC affiliate, WSMV-TV, the company said that it was “cooperating fully with local authorities” and that the identity of the instructor was being withheld pending notification of the next of kin.
“Go Skydive Nashville remains dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of training, safety, and professionalism,” the company said.
In an interview with WSMV-TV, a man who happened to be near the site of the rescue said that he had helped firefighters.
“Just glad that he got down safe,” said the man, Ron Ulus, referring to the rescued skydiver.
“He just said it was his first jump,” he added, “and it was going to be his last.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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