Air tragedy: something went wrong and a paratrooper instructor died for a jump with his student

While many doubt or feel vertigo just to imagine a parachute jumpthere are those who live that adrenaline several times a day. But even for the most professional, in a sport so calculated and full of protocols, a minimum error or an unexpected failure can change everything.

This is like a training day It ended in tragedy to Justin Fullerand 35 -year -old instructor who died over the weekend during A tandem jumpa modality in which instructor and student descend attached to the same parachute.

He accident It happened on Saturday afternoon in a wooded area near the American highway of Ashland Cityon the outskirts of Nashville.

Fuller, known in the environment as «Spidey«, And his student, a 46 -year -oldthey prepared to jump from an plane when, according to the authorities, Something came out terribly bad.

How the accident occurred

According to the Nashville Metropolitan Policeboth tangled up in the lateral rig of the plane just before throwing themselves. At that moment, Fuller separated from the student and fell without parachute.

The student, on the other hand, managed to survive because Its emergency parachute was deployed in timeallowing him to slowly descend until caught in a tree cupabout 15 meters from the ground.

It was about four in the afternoon when a police helicopter detected the Bright orange parachute among trees. Firefighters worked for hours to rescue the man, who was «awake and alert» but in shock.

«A NFD rescuer reached safe and except for the paratrooper, released him from the harness and helped him go down the stairs through a pulley system,» the Nashville Fire Department.

The man was transferred to a nearby hospital as a precautionary measure, although he is expected to recover Without complications.

Meanwhile, Spidey’s search continued by air and earth. His body was found around 18:45, almost two kilometers from the place where his student had landed.

What failed during the Tandem jump

The first investigations indicate that The instructor fell without his parachute getting to open. However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) already started an investigation to determine precisely What failed during the jump.

In parallel, the local chain Fox 17 He informed that the initial experts ruled out failures in the student’s harness team, which did not present breaks or defects.

Justin Fuller’s body was found next to the highway. Photo: Fox 17

He Police Department He confirmed that three other paratroopers who had jumped before the tandem team landed without inconveniences, and that The plane He returned safely to the John C. Tune airport.

For its part, the responsible company, Go Skydive Nashville, Clarifies on its website that «reserve parachute is available in case the main parachute does not work.» Therefore, in the event that the main parachute presents a malfunction or a problem arises, «the instructor will display the back or reserve parachute.»

Who was Justin Fuller

His colleagues describe him as a Passionate professionalalways «willing to teach and inspire new jumpers.»

He had done More than 5,000 jumps Throughout his career and had also trained military personnel in aerial maneuvers.

During the last six years he served as a full -time instructor in Skydive Tennessee, one of the most recognized academies in the country.

In the last week, he had announced through his account of Facebook that would begin a new stage in Go Skydive Nashvillea center specialized in advanced training.

Justin had more than ten years of experience as a paratrooper instructor. Photo: FB Justin Fuller Spidey

The local community prepares a vigil in its memory, while the FAA and the Metropolitan Police They continue to collect testimonies and review the flight material.

In addition to teaching Tandem jumpsJustin taught awning control courses – A discipline that focuses on the management of parachute during the descent – and was a mentor of dozens of young people who today regret their departure.