Overview

• Police say 35-year-old instructor Justin Robert Fuller became separated at the plane from the tandem rig during the Oct. 4 jump.
• The 46-year-old student’s reserve deployed, leaving him lodged in a tree off Ashland City Highway until firefighters executed a high-angle rescue.
• An MNPD helicopter later located the instructor’s body in a wooded clearing; three other skydivers and the plane landed safely at John C. Tune Airport.
• The FAA has opened an investigation, with some reports also citing NTSB involvement; Go Skydive Nashville says it is cooperating.
• Local outlets describe Fuller as a highly experienced jumper with more than 5,000 jumps, and officials noted limited FAA communications during the government shutdown.