10/18/2026 09:32:00
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10/18 09:30 CDT Nellis Air Force Base: Service member dies after rappelling
fall at a UT San Antonio game
Nellis Air Force Base: Service member dies after rappelling fall at a UT San
Antonio game
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AP) --- A military service member has died after he fell
hard as he rappelled from the ceiling to midfield before a University of Texas
at San Antonio football game where the military was honored.
Nellis Air Force Base Public Affairs said the service member assigned to the
6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2, was taken Saturday to a local
hospital, where he later died.
An investigation was underway into what led up to the incident at UTSA's annual
Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans game against Navy.
A video of the fall that was posted on social media showed the man, in combat
fatigues, quickly descending to the ground feet first. The fall occurred with
fans in the stands and a band assembled nearby on the field. He was treated on
the field for several minutes and taken away on a gurney.
In a statement after the game, UTSA offered counseling service contacts for
students and said: "We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred at the
start of tonight's game. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the
soldier who was affected, his family and his military colleagues."
The man, whose identity was not immediately released, was one of four military
service members who were scheduled to participate in the pregame rappelling
demonstration.
According to an Air Force website, the service members who were participating
in the rappelling demonstration were part of a team of specialists who embed
with Army and Marine units and help to direct air and artillery strikes from
forward ground locations.
Part of their training includes learning to rapidly drop by rope, sometimes
from helicopters that are 100 feet (about 30 meters) or more above the ground.
The game at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, which UTSA won 38-34, was
delayed for about 10 minutes.
After the game, UTSA Coach Jeff Traylor told reporters that the accident was
"heartbreaking" and "tragic."
He said the team could see the effect that it had on the crowd of over 23,000
people as soon as players arrived on the field for the game, although Traylor
had only been told there had been an "incident" that would delay the start of
the game by about 10 minutes.
"You could tell the energy was just gone," he said. "It just really puts things
in perspective. It really does."
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