Skydiving Instructor Found Dead After Tandem Jump Gone Wrong
Skydiving can be a thrilling and exhilarating activity, but the potential for things to go wrong is extremely high compared to other extreme sports. Skateboarders and snowboarders are used to falling several times, but they're able to get up from minor accidents with little to no injury.
Those who ride bikes or motorcycles often do so with protective padding and helmets to protect themselves, and others attempt to wear protective gear when doing other extreme activities like racing.
A skydiving instructor and one of their clients attempted a tandem jump together, but the move ended in tragedy as the instructor's fall proved to be fatal.
Skydive Ends in Tragedy
The Metro Nashville Police Department says they found the 35-year-old instructor's body via helicopter on Saturday. The client was lodged in a tree after opening their parachute on the skydiving attempt, and they required hours of assistance before being freed.
The 46-year-old skydiving client was able to use their legs, which aided authorities in helping them get free. Crews used chainsaws to cut through the tree limbs and branches, opening a path for the skydiver to escape through.
“This skydiver became separated at the plane from a tandem rig with an instructor. The instructor is presumed to have fallen from the sky without a parachute," the police department said on social media.
Skydiving Company Responds to the Incident
Go Skydive Nashville, the company that facilitated the dive, said that the events that took place were part of a "fragic loss of life," and that they intend to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
The company notes on its website that safety precautions are of the utmost importance, and that its skydiving gear is "meticulously maintained."
“Your instructor wears two parachutes, a big, stable main parachute and a reserve parachute. You wear a specially-designed tandem skydiving harness that securely attaches you to your instructor," the website says, hoping to assure new visitors.
Additionally, the company added that it performs "stringent checks (of its skydiving equipment) before each jump."
Skydiving deaths are extremely rare in the United States. Last year, the United States Parachute Association said that there were only nine deaths through 3.88 million reported skydives.
The group says that most skydiving accidents are the result of "simple human error." Nashville police confirmed that the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating, despite the ongoing government shutdown.