A service member assigned to an Air Force training unit died Saturday night after falling from the rafters of the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, during a pregame rappelling demonstration before a football game between the University of Texas at San Antonio and the Naval Academy.
A spokesperson for Nellis Air Force Base confirmed that the service member, assigned to the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2, died from injuries sustained in the fall. The Air Force did not identify the deceased.
The incident occurred during UTSA’s annual Salute to Armed Forces & Veterans game. Four military members were scheduled to rappel from the rafters to the ground. According to the San Antonio Express-News, halfway through the descent, one person slid down the rope in “an uncontrolled manner” and hit the ground hard. Football staff rushed to the injured man, and medical personnel provided first aid before he was placed on a stretcher.
The San Antonio Fire Department told Task & Purpose that it transported a person with a life-threatening injury to a hospital. The Air Force later confirmed the airman had died.
“The incident is under investigation. More information will be released as it becomes available,” the Nellis spokesperson said.
Prior to the Air Force’s announcement, a spokesperson for UTSA Athletics confirmed that the rappel team consisted of members of the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2. The squadron selects and trains students for the Air Force’s Tactical Air Control Party, or TACP, role. TACPs embed with soldiers and Marines and direct and coordinate airstrikes from ground positions.
The 6th Combat Training Squadron is based at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, while Detachment 2 operates from Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis.
The incident remains under investigation, with the Air Force saying more information will be released as it becomes available.
Sources: DVIDS News · Task & Purpose