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A member of the US Air Force died after he fell while abseiling from the ceiling of a Texas stadium ahead of a college football game.<\/b><\/p>\n
Footage shows the serviceman plummet feet first to the turf midfield at San Antonio’s 170ft (52 metre) high Alamodome on Saturday during a ceremony ahead of the game between the University of Texas at San Antonio and the Naval Academy.<\/p>\n
The airman, identified, external<\/span><\/a> by the military as Sgt Ian Patterson, a Tactical Air Control Party instructor at Joint Base San Antonio, died in hospital. <\/p>\n The incident is being investigated. The game between the UTSA Roadrunners and the Navy Midshipmen continued as planned following the tragic incident. <\/p>\n A collegiate athletic association said the decision to press ahead with the fixture was made before the airman’s death had been confirmed.<\/p>\n “We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, teammates and members of the 57th Wing,” the American Conference, external<\/span><\/a> said in a statement.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n “Tech Sgt Patterson and his service mattered immensely to our wing.”<\/p>\n Patterson, from Fort Stewart, Georgia, had served in the US military for 15 years, according to Nellis Air Force Base.<\/p>\n He held multiple military decorations and was in 2022 named the Air Force Special Warfare Enlisted Instructor of the Year at the Headquarters Air Force level.<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n