Statement on Tennessee Skydiving Accident
DZONE® Skydiving has received numerous inquiries from Idahoans about a skydiving accident that ocurred on October 4th 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee (this is NOT a DZONE location) and offers the following professional perspective.
What We Know
As reported on national news, a tandem pair of jumpers went for a routine introductory skydive. Reports indicate that the tandem student—who is harnessed in front of the instructor—landed under the reserve canopy in a wooded area, separated from the instructor.
How Could This Have Happened?
The critical question we are receiving, and that everyone wants to know, is how could this happen?
While official details have not yet been confirmed, we will await the NTSB and FAA investigation results. Based on industry experience, the following is our informed understanding of possible contributing factors:
We believe that the tandem pair was entangled with the Cessna 182 aircraft’s step when attempting to exit; the step is a small metal platform mounted outside the aircraft door, used to enter and exit the airplane both on the ground and in-flight. It is not yet known whether the aircraft used a factory-installed passenger step or a purpose-built jump step, like those used on DZONE’s aircraft.
The entanglement scenario is rare but has happened in the industry previously. In at least one case, the instructor was able to sever non-critical webbing thus releasing the jumpers from the step and allowing a normal deployment of a parachute. A video of this OTHER incident can be seen at http://y2u.be/SDnG4dXEFW0. In the following video frame one can see a basic step’s snag hazard, and to the right a DZONE-style jump step:
When such an entanglement occurs, it can leave the participants hanging upside down, as seen. This type of entanglement represents an extremely unusual and complex emergency, even for highly trained instructors.
The instructor’s harness, which is integrated into the parachute container system, is not as form-fitting as the student’s adjustable harness. While hanging upside down, the shoulder straps will be the primary item holding a jumper against the forces of both gravity and 100mph wind as they are dragged through the sky. An attempt by an instructor to curl/reach up and investigate the entanglement could result in falling out of the “top” of the harness (from between the shoulder straps); especially if the instructor is of slim build. This potential can be exacerbated if the instructor’s chest strap and lateral connection points (the lower connections between the instructor’s and the student’s hips) are loose. In fact, it’s possible to be pulled through the bottom or “seat” area of the instructor system as well, with an improperly adjusted or loose instructor harness configuration.
At some point either by sheer luck or an effort by the pilot, the tandem passenger, along with the parachute equipment they were attached to, came free of the aircraft. An automatic activation device (“AAD”) is used in all tandem skydiving systems which deploys the reserve parachute automatically when the pair reaches approximately 2,000ft above the ground at an unsafe descent rate. We suspect the tandem student let the parachute glide on its own to their final destination.
Final Thoughts
Skydiving is a beautiful and transformative sport, yet it remains inherently unforgiving and carries real risk. As an industry, we try to reasonably mitigate those risks through training, protocols, and equipment innovations. While there have been major skydiving incidents in the Treasure Valley (Caldwell) reported on the news, none have been associated with DZONE Skydiving locations.
DZONE has taken this tragic event as another opportunity for discussion among our instructors. We believe in an ongoing and conscious effort to improve safety and mitigate risk, so we can enjoy the unmatched sensation of skydiving. That sensation is from where we derive our slogan, Feel The Freedom®.
Our hearts go out to instructor Justin “Spidey” Fuller, his friends and family, as well as the skydiving student who survived this harrowing experience.