An Air Force commando dies after falling from the Alamodome rafters during a fast rope demonstration before the UTSA game

The demonstration was part of the ceremony. Four airmen came down ropes from the rafters of the Alamodome, 170 feet above the field, to present the colors before the University of Texas at San Antonio played Navy in the school annual Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans game. One of them lost control of his descent about halfway down and fell to the turf in front of thousands of spectators.

He was treated on the field for about ten minutes while staff formed a screen around him, then taken by the San Antonio Fire Department to hospital as a priority patient. He died of his injuries that night, a spokesman at Nellis Air Force Base told Task and Purpose. Kickoff was delayed about ten minutes. UTSA won the game 38 to 34.

The airman was assigned to Detachment 2 of the 6th Combat Training Squadron, the unit that trains air combat controllers, whose work includes rappelling from helicopters at heights above 100 feet. His name has not been released, pending notification of his family. The Air Force investigation has not determined what caused the fall, and no cause has been announced, as of October 18.

A witness in the stands, Adrian Corey, described the silence that followed to KSAT. Everyone was quiet, the band stopped performing, everybody was dead silent, he said. A presentation meant to honor service members before a football game ended with one of them carried off the field, and a stadium full of people who had watched it happen left to sit with it through the game that followed.