Air Force member killed rappelling from Alamodome’s ceiling in Salute to Armed Forces ceremony

Airman dies rappelling from roofAn Air Force commando fell to his death after slipping while rappelling 170 feet from the roof of the Alamodome during a pre-game demonstration.

The incident occurred just before kickoff between Navy and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

"Once the band started playing, there was a guy that fell down," witness Adrian Corey, one of more than 23,000 people who attended the game, told ABC San Antonio affiliate station KSAT.

The airman was identified as Sgt. Ian Patterson, assigned to the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2, a spokesperson for the Nellis Air Force Base, where the airman was stationed, said in a statement. Nellis Air Force Base is located in Nevada.

PHOTO: Paramedics work on an airman who was critically injured and later died after rappelling from the ceiling of the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, October 18, 2026, as part of a Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans night.
Paramedics work on an airman who was critically injured and later died after rappelling from the ceiling of the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, October 18, 2026, as part of a Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans night at a football game between Navy and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Witnesses said the airman was one of three service members conducting a rappelling demonstration from the Alamodome's ceiling, a drop of about 170 feet.

Corey, who recorded the incident on his cellphone, said he and other spectators noticed something was wrong when the airman, whose name has not been released, "started coming down fast."

San Antonio Fire Department spokesman Joe Arrington told ABC News that firefighters responded to the Alamodome around 7 p.m. local time after getting a call about someone falling during a pre-game event. Arrington said the individual was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

PHOTO: An Air Force member who was critically injured and later died after rappelling from the ceiling of the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, October 18, 2026, as part of a Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans night.
An Air Force member who was critically injured and later died after rappelling from the ceiling of the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, October 18, 2026, as part of a Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans night at a football game between Navy and the University of Texas at San Antonio.

A spokesperson for the University of Texas at San Antonio said in a statement to ESPN that students who witnessed the incident are encouraged to contact the university's crisis hotline.

"Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the soldier who was affected, his family and his military colleagues," the UTSA spokesperson said. "We recognize that members of our campus community may be emotionally affected by this incident and are activating wellbeing services to support our faculty, staff and students."