Airman Dies After Rappelling Fall at Alamodome Before UTSA Game

Updated 06:58 UTC, Oct 19: The Air Force has identified the airman as Tech. Sgt. Ian Patterson, a Tactical Air Control Party instructor with Detachment 2 of the 6th Combat Training Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio. Patterson, originally from Fort Stewart, Georgia, had served for 15 years and was named the Air Force Special Warfare Enlisted Instructor of the Year at the Headquarters Air Force level in 2022, Nellis Air Force Base said on Sunday night. Brig. Gen. Scott C. Mills, who commands the 57th Wing, said the wing is standing beside Patterson's family, his loved ones and his fellow airmen. The fall remains under investigation, and the Air Force has not said what caused it.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas. An Air Force service member died on Saturday night after falling from the rafters of the Alamodome during a pregame rappelling demonstration before the University of Texas at San Antonio football game against Navy.

A spokesperson for Nellis Air Force Base confirmed the death to Task and Purpose, the military news outlet, in a report also carried by The Sun. The airman was assigned to Detachment 2 of the 6th Combat Training Squadron. "The incident is under investigation. More information will be released as it becomes available," the spokesperson said.

What happened on the field

Four service members were rappelling from the rafters as part of the pregame ceremony for UTSA's annual Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans game. About halfway down, one of them slid down his rope in an uncontrolled manner and hit the ground hard, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

Medical staff treated him on the field for about 10 minutes while UTSA staff formed a semicircle around him. The San Antonio Fire Department took him to a hospital with a life threatening injury, and kickoff was delayed by about 10 minutes. A crowd of 23,297 was in the stadium, and the Alamodome ceiling is about 170 feet high.

Witness Adrian Corey told KSAT the stadium fell silent. "Everybody was quiet, the band stopped performing. Everybody was dead silent," he said.

The unit and the game

The 6th Combat Training Squadron is based at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, and Detachment 2 works from Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis. The squadron trains Tactical Air Control Party members, airmen who embed with soldiers and Marines on the ground and direct and coordinate airstrikes.

UTSA said late on Saturday night that it was deeply saddened, and that its thoughts were with the airman, his family and his colleagues. The university said it was turning on wellbeing services for students, faculty and staff who saw the fall. The American Conference, which runs the league UTSA plays in, issued a similar statement and said it was working with both schools, the Alamodome and local authorities.

The demonstration was tied to the pregame coin toss. The squadron's work includes rappelling training of the kind used to descend from helicopters at heights above 100 feet. The American Conference said it had consulted both schools, Alamodome management and local authorities, that it respected the family's privacy, and that it would coordinate any further updates with the authorities.

The game went ahead after the delay, and UTSA beat Navy 38 to 34.