A pregame show at a University of Texas at San Antonia football game turned into a nightmare after fans witnessed an Air Force Commando plummet hundreds of feet to his death. The airman reportedly slipped during a stunt that would have seen him rappelling from the roof of the Alamodome on Saturday.
Footage from the incident was shared online over the weekend and shows the moment the service member, who had been assigned to the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2, fell to his death before Saturday’s game between UTSA and Navy. In the videos circulating online, the airman appears to lose control and descend too fast, hitting the ground with tremendous force.
Tens of thousands of fans watched as medical teams rushed to the field, and UTSA staff formed a semicircle around the injured man as they tended to him. Medical treatment was administered for ten minutes before he was placed on a stretcher, carried off the field, and rushed to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to San Antonio Express News.
The response to the incident
Speaking to KSAT, one witness said that “Everyone was quiet; the band stopped performing. Everybody was dead silent.” Another witness added, “It was a very sad moment.” They claimed they were not given any updates other than “asking for prayers.”
The military show had been scheduled as part of the pregame coin toss; however, the horrific accident resulted in the game being delayed by 10 minutes. After the injured service member was carried off the field, the game went ahead as planned.
Some online criticized the decision to go ahead with the game, calling it insensitive. “And they went right on to play the game like nothing happened. F—ing disgusting,” wrote X account “@jspesh68.” Others pointed the finger at Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who recently attacked the media with a fiery speech, quoting his X post from earlier this year in which he said, “The flyovers will continue until morale improves.” Only this time, they replaced “flyovers” with “rappelling.”
The incident was later acknowledged in a statement posted to X by the UTSA account. “We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred at the start of tonight’s football game. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the soldier who was affected, his family and his military colleagues.”
The American Conference also addressed the incident in a statement on X, adding that they too are “deeply saddened,” and that they had “consulted with representatives of both participating member institutions” to review the information available.
Published: Oct 19, 2026 03:45 pm