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The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the fatality of a skydiving instructor after he became separated from his client during a dive in Music City, TN.

Authorities say trainer the instructor "is presumed to have dropped from the air without a safety chute" during the dive on the weekend.

The instructor, 35, seems to have separated from his client and a dual harness, which links the two during a dive and includes the safety gear.

A law enforcement aircraft found Fuller's body in a wooded area hours later. The Nashville Fire Department utilized several ladders to access the 46-year old client who survived the descent after being stuck on a tree branch for hours with the emergency parachute.

Police said three other dives, which took place near Nashville's John C Tune airport, were carried out without incident prior to the fatal fall. The plane from which they jumped also touched down without issue.

The cause remains unknown how the instructor, an experienced skydiver, got detached from the safety equipment.

A man who helped fire crews in the rescue told a media outlet the client who officials saved mentioned "he was a first-time jumper, and it was going to be his last".

The instructor had previously posted about his passion for teaching others how to skydive.

"Instructing individuals to parachute has always been in my view the most satisfying job at the jump site," the instructor said in an Instagram post in the summer.

"Watching them learn the skills and start flying their selves is always a heartwarming experience. Occasionally though, it can get a little hectic up there when you release a student for their first time."

That same month he posted images of the damage a skydiving plane he was on noting the plane's engine had malfunctioned after departure. All 20 people onboard lived through the incident.