![Skydiving instructor Justin Fuller was killed in a tandem jump attempt accident. [Credit: Facebook]](https://flyingmag1.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/justin-robert-fuller-e1759772644814.png?width=387&height=307)
Authorities in Nashville, Tennessee, are investigating the accident that killed a skydiving instructor over the weekend.
According to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, instructor Justin Fuller, 35, from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, fell to earth without a parachute.
The jump was organized by Go Skydive Nashville. According to the company website, the jumps begin at 14,000 feet using a Cessna 182.
What Happened
On Saturday, October 4, Fuller and a 46-year-old first-time student were attempting to make a tandem dive over the drop zone of John C. Tune Airport (KJWN). For tandem dives the student is attached to the instructor via rigging.
According to preliminary reports, Fuller and the student may have become stuck on the side of the airplane in a tandem rig. Fuller separated from the rig and fell. The student’s emergency parachute deployed.
Investigators searched for Fuller and the student using a police helicopter. The student came down on the top of a tall tree and was rescued by the Nashville Fire Department. The rescue took several long ladders and a pulley system.
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Investigators report the student had minimal non-life-threatening injuries and was able to walk away despite being stuck up the tree for several hours.
A local television station reported that the tandem harness worn by the student did not appear to be broken.
Fuller’s body was found later in the day in the “clearing of a wooded area off Ashland City Highway,” the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said Saturday evening on X.
Three other skydivers who jumped moments earlier landed safely, and the aircraft also landed safely at KJWN. There was no information available about what kind of aircraft was involved.
Fuller, known as “Spidey,” according to the local TV reports, is described as an experienced instructor with more than 5,000 jumps. According to the Go Skydive Nashville website, tandem instructors are “highly trained and USPA [United States Parachute Association]-certified professionals” who “undergo extensive training and certification before they are permitted to attempt a jump with a student.”
The website description continued: “Tandem skydiving means you’ll be physically attached by a secure dual harness to your expert instructor. You’ll exit the plane together, with the instructor fully controlling the parachute you two share. Take the plunge into 35 seconds of pure adrenaline and awe as you free fall at speeds reaching 120 mph. Your instructor will deploy your parachute at the precise altitude—now, you’re flying!”
According to the website, 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 them to the instructor.
The company website notes that skydiving gear is meticulously maintained and regularly inspected.
FLYING’s attempts to reach Go Skydive Nashville were not successful.
FLYING also attempted to reach the FAA to inquire about the investigation and received the following email response: “Due to a lapse in funding, the FAA will only conduct “exempt” activities. The FAA will have limited communications but will send any significant safety messaging.”
