Tandem skydivers become separated, with one falling to his death and the other hanging from a tree
The student was found hanging about 50 feet up in a tree with the open chute, Metro Nashville Police Department said on X Saturday.
Firefighters free a skydiver caught in a tree after he became separated from an instructor during a tandem jump on Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo Credit: Nashville Fire Department via CNN Newsource)
Washington (CNN) — A skydiving instructor fell to his death in Nashville this weekend after a tandem jump went wrong and he somehow became separated from the other skydiver and their parachute.
A tandem jump is when two skydivers, usually an instructor and a beginner, are harnessed together and share one parachute.
The student was found hanging about 50 feet up in a tree with the open chute, Metro Nashville Police Department said on X Saturday. He was hanging there for hours, before the Nashville Fire Department was able to free him from the harness and assist him down a ladder with a pulley system.
“The gentleman was parachuting… He was glad to get down” Romulus Rood, who witnessed the rescue, told CNN affiliate WZTV. “He said it was his first and last jump.”
The 35-year-old instructor was later found dead in a clearing a few miles away, Nashville police said. He was found not wearing a harness, according to WZTV.
Three other skydivers who jumped moments before the pair landed safely, police said. The plane also landed without incident at a nearby airport.
CNN has reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration, which police say is investigating the incident, and the National Transportation Safety Board. It is unclear whether the agencies will comment due to the federal government shutdown.
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