FALL KILLS AIR FORCE MEMBER BEFORE NAVY-UTSA GAME

A US Air Force service member died after falling during a pregame demonstration at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Saturday. He was descending from the rafters before a football game between Navy and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). The demonstration formed part of UTSA’s annual Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans game. Emergency personnel took him to a local hospital, where he died. The Air Force has not disclosed his name.

Video shared on social media showed the service member slipping down a line during a demonstration involving four military personnel. Medical staff treated him on the field for about 10 minutes as UTSA staff formed a semicircle around him. Staff then carried him away on a stretcher. The demonstration had been scheduled before the coin toss, and the game began about 10 minutes late. Adrian Corey, who witnessed the fall, said: “Everybody was quiet, the band stopped performing. Everybody was dead silent.”

The service member belonged to Detachment 2 of the Air Force’s 6th Combat Training Squadron, based at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. The unit trains air combat controllers in techniques that include rappelling from helicopters. The fall is under investigation. UTSA said it was “deeply saddened by the incident” and expressed sympathy for the service member’s family and military colleagues.