OMM Newsroom
A US Air Force serviceman died after falling while abseiling from the roof of a Texas stadium before a college football game, according to the BBC.
Video shows the airman falling feet first onto the turf at midfield in the 170ft (52-metre) Alamodome in San Antonio on Saturday. The descent took place during a ceremony before a game between the University of Texas at San Antonio and the Naval Academy.
The military identified him as Sgt Ian Patterson, a Tactical Air Control Party instructor at Joint Base San Antonio. He died in hospital. The incident is under investigation.
The game between the UTSA Roadrunners and the Navy Midshipmen went ahead as planned. The American Conference said the decision to continue the fixture was made before Patterson’s death had been confirmed.
“We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, teammates and members of the 57th Wing,” the conference said in a statement.
US Air Force Brig Gen Scott Mills said in a statement issued by Nellis Air Force Base: “This tragedy is felt deeply across the 57th Wing.”
“Tech Sgt Patterson and his service mattered immensely to our wing,” Mills said.
Patterson, who was from Fort Stewart, Georgia, had served in the US military for 15 years, according to Nellis Air Force Base.
He had received multiple military decorations and was named Air Force Special Warfare Enlisted Instructor of the Year at the Headquarters Air Force level in 2022.
UTSA President Taylor Eighmy said: “I want to extend my deepest and most heartfelt sympathies to the service member’s family, his fellow airmen, squadron and all those whose lives have been touched by this heartbreaking tragedy.”
