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The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the death of a skydiving instructor following he became separated from his student during a jump in Nashville, Tennessee.

Authorities report instructor Justin Fuller "appears to have fallen from the sky without a parachute" during the jump on the weekend.

The instructor, 35 years old, appeared to have separated from his student and a dual harness, which links the two during a jump and contains the safety gear.

A law enforcement aircraft located Fuller's body in a forested zone hours later. The Nashville Fire Department utilized several ladders to access the middle-aged client who survived the descent after being stuck on a tree for some time with the backup chute.

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

The cause remains unknown how the instructor, an seasoned parachutist, got detached from the protective gear.

A man who helped rescue teams in the rescue informed a local television station the student who authorities rescued said "it was his first jump, and it was going to be his last".

The instructor had recently written about his passion for instructing people how to parachute.

"Teaching people to parachute has consistently been in my view the most rewarding job at the jump site," Mr Fuller said in an Instagram post in the summer.

"Observing students learn the skills and start flying their selves is always a touching moment. Sometimes though, it can get a little hectic up there when you release a student for their first time."

That same month he posted photos of the wreckage a jump aircraft he was on saying the aircraft's motor had malfunctioned after take off. All 20 people aboard survived.