Images: Nashville Fire Dept, from an Oct. 4, 2025, rescue call for a parachute jumper in distress.
A fatal skydiving accident outside of Nashville is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The skydiving instructor and the student became separated at some point, leaving the instructor to presumably freefall, police said.
Skydiving instructor death
What they're saying:
A 35-year-old skydiving instructor was found dead in the clearing of a wooded area off Ashland City Highway Saturday, Metro Nashville police said.
Police said the instructor became separated at the plane from a tandem rig with the skydiver, and the instructor is presumed to have fallen from the sky without a parachute.
Police said three other skydivers who jumped moments earlier landed safely, as did the plane at Tune Airport.
FOX 17 Nashville reported the skydivers were with Go Skydive Nashville, which was said to be cooperating with an FAA investigation.
Skydiver rescued
Earlier:
The skydiver paired with the fallen instructor was found and rescued earlier on Saturday.
The fire department was called for a parachute jumper in distress in a wooded area about 2–3 miles from the road.
What they're saying:
The Nashville Fire Department said on social media that they were able to rescue the skydiver, free him from his harness and help him down a ladder using a pulley system.
The department shared photos on social media of the rescue.
The skydiver was stranded for hours, but was awake and alert during the rescue and taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Local perspective:
A man who was in the area and witnessed the tree rescue told WSMV-TV he first thought something was wrong with his friend’s property when he saw the emergency trucks.
The man happened to have climbing gear, so he told the outlet he assisted the first responders with the rescue.
"I’m used to being up high; it was just another day for me," he said. "Just glad that he got down safe. (The skydiving student) just said it was his first jump, and it was going to be his last."
The Source: Information in this article was taken from Nashville police and fire officials, and from local FOX 17 and WSMV 4 reports. This story was reported from Detroit.