Was part of a rappelling demonstration prior to the UTSA game. Something went wrong and he came down way too fast hitting the field hard. Prayers for him and his family this morning.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/airman-dies-utsa-rappelling-incident/

Apparently he was a TACP cadre member. Pretty horrific.

Damn that's awful.

Seems very preventable and extremely frustrating that we would put one of our best in that position for a football game. Major safety failure.

Saw the video and would have sworn it was AI. Wish it had been.

T&P for the airman and his family.

So many questions, where was the belayer, did they use a standard carabineer or a figure 8? Who was the safety checker?

What's even sadder is they played the game. He eventually died.

Over_ed said:

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Vepp said:

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What's even sadder is they played the game. He eventually died.

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Really? They should have cancelled the game? Does your rule apply to every game, concert, sporting event...

I was infantry in the late 70's. We had terrible training accidents - my basic platoon lost 3 maimed in a truck accident (none killed).We had a company commander walk a squad off a eff'n cliff (none dead but at least 2 left the service as a result not counting said captain.

Accidents are a part of life, as is death, even these unexpected ones. Get a little tougher. The show goes on.

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Yes they should have canceled or postponed the game. None of your examples happened in a football stadium literally minutes before a game was to be played. What a strange reply.

There is some bad voodoo in the AlamoDome. I don't like going to that place.

In 2011, Josh Hamilton threw a ball to a fan in the 2nd inning who fell trying to catch it. He ended up dying on the way to the hospital. The game went on as normal. While both are tragic, I don't really see how canceling the game would really do anything.

Esteban du Plantier said:

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Vepp said:

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What's even sadder is they played the game. He eventually died.

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What does cancelling the game accomplish?

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Respect. Reflects priorities.
We are clearly in the bread and circus phase of the American Republic.

The fact that he was still alive when they transported him is meaningless. It was clear from the video that was a fatal fall. Frankly I'm surprised he didn't die on the spot.

My buddy and his wife were at the game and saw it live, he said it looked really bad when it happened.

Here

terrible.

Lost a brother-in-law a few years ago when he somehow fell while he was doing fast repel out of a helicopter on a night mission in Afghanistan.

Not watching that video. Hits too close to home.

Circus phase of the American Republic? No, what you suggest is snowflake phase of the American Republic. Have a moment of silence/prayer, then the game goes on. I don't think there is anyone on this board who, if they had been that man, would want the game cancelled.

I was with the alumni Aggie Band in 1994 when one of us old farts collapsed from a heart attack. We had already halted the drill for a presentation when he fell. It looked bad, CPR and everything.

We abandoned the rest of the drill, but the football game resumed after an ambulance hauled him off.

He did survive, though it wasn't an obvious outcome at the time.

Burdizzo said:

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There is some bad voodoo in the AlamoDome. I don't like going to that place.

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I thought it was because if you're watching your team play there they suck.

war hymn aggie said:

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terrible.

Lost a brother-in-law a few years ago when he somehow fell while he was doing fast repel out of a helicopter on a night mission in Afghanistan.

Not watching that video. Hits too close to home.

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Fast rope is different. You have to stride or small leap to a thick rope in kit and wrap it with your body. It's very difficult if the chopper moves.

Rappel is complicated. I'm not an expert or a master rappeller, but I didn't see a belay below and it appears that the rope was too thin causing such a crazy speed. In my experience, you want a real thick rope from that height where you need to "free it" to allow yourself to the ground. In my opinion, you don't want just a hand brake because too many things can go wrong.

So tragic and awful.

I was a student in the stands for that game and can remember vividly how silent it was in Kyle while they performed CPR on him.

CanyonAg77 said:

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I was with the alumni Aggie Band in 1994 when one of us old farts collapsed from a heart attack. We had already halted the drill for a presentation when he fell. It looked bad, CPR and everything.

We abandoned the rest of the drill, but the football game resumed after an ambulance hauled him off.

He did survive, though it wasn't an obvious outcome at the time.

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I remember watching that as a kid. My uncle was one of the guys in the reunion.

Did the rope break, did he lose control, or both?

Spaceship said:

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Seems very preventable and extremely frustrating that we would put one of our best in that position for a football game. Major safety failure.

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If I'm not mistaken, they classify it as training. It's not just a useless demonstration, but it is very public.

doubledog said:

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T&P for the airman and his family.

So many questions, where was the belayer, did they use a standard carabineer or a figure 8? Who was the safety checker?

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I forced myself to watch the video. There was not a belayer (someone at the bottom, to manage the rope to catch him if he fell, hold their weight, or lower him safely to the ground). It appears that the airman followed the rope down, which means that the carabineer was not set properly or the rope slipped from his hands. If there was a safety checker then they did not do their job.

CanyonAg77 said:

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I was with the alumni Aggie Band in 1994 when one of us old farts collapsed from a heart attack. We had already halted the drill for a presentation when he fell. It looked bad, CPR and everything.

We abandoned the rest of the drill, but the football game resumed after an ambulance hauled him off.

He did survive, though it wasn't an obvious outcome at the time.

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As a Tenor Saxophone player, I was up at the front and it happened behind me.

I remember how incredibly quiet Kyle Field got.

doubledog said:

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doubledog said:

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T&P for the airman and his family.

So many questions, where was the belayer, did they use a standard carabineer or a figure 8? Who was the safety checker?

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I forced myself to watch the video. There was not a belayer (someone at the bottom, to manage the rope to catch him if he fell, hold their weight, or lower him safely to the ground). It appears that the airman followed the rope down, which means that the carabineer was not set properly or the rope slipped from his hands. If there was a safety checker then they did not do their job.

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I haven't done enough rappelling to comment. 60 ft tower at Advanced Camp, 5 story building at Easterwood.

But I would like to see somebody explain what was supposed to be happening. If anybody has a link, please share.

Just to clear up a few misconceptions on this thread...

1. That soldier died when he hit the ground. He was not pronounced dead until he got to the hospital because only a physician can make that call for the death certificate. Quit acting like he was showing signs of life at the game and that's why they decided to play.

2. People die at football games all the time. I'm guessing at least one person dies at Kyle Field every season. A person almost certainly dies at a college game every single weekend. The only time I've seen a game cancelled was shen a player died on the field.

HollywoodBQ said:

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CanyonAg77 said:

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I was with the alumni Aggie Band in 1994 when one of us old farts collapsed from a heart attack. We had already halted the drill for a presentation when he fell. It looked bad, CPR and everything.

We abandoned the rest of the drill, but the football game resumed after an ambulance hauled him off.

He did survive, though it wasn't an obvious outcome at the time.

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As a Tenor Saxophone player, I was up at the front and it happened behind me.

I remember how incredibly quiet Kyle Field got.

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Funny how we were on the field together, but never knew until now. I was a lefft guide in the trumpet section. Close enough to watch the doctors in the formation rush to his aid. Then I was waving across the field to the drum major on the opposite side, to not blow 'forward march' to the next thing

At some point, someone nearby took off his hat, and then everyone else did. My wife said it was breathtaking to watch, as if it were a planned ripple movement

I saw the video. My god his life just ended so tragically.

T&P to all his loved ones.

stetson said:

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Circus phase of the American Republic? No, what you suggest is snowflake phase of the American Republic. Have a moment of silence/prayer, then the game goes on. I don't think there is anyone on this board who, if they had been that man, would want the game cancelled.

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You're wrong. This had nothing to do with "snowflakes". It's human decency and decorum.

I just saw this tweet and I'll copy a portion of it here that fleshes out what I've been saying much better than I did.

" he third thing is the most heartbreaking. This man fell to his death around thousands of people. Almost no one appeared to care. The band kept playing, the cheerleaders mostly kept cheering, the fans were all complacent. I understand some were in shock. But even after they recovered the victim, they kept the game going like nothing happened as one of our service men died right in front of everyone. Society seems to really care about celebrating veterans and fallen soldiers, but when one literally dies in front of them, they just want to get back to the game.

The other thing I want to mention is something more sinister. All of the reports that initially came out suggested that he was "injured". It is my opinion, they did this for optics. They didn't want to ruin the game or look bad. So, they had to wait until much later to tell people how bad it really was.

This is, unfortunately, a perfect symbol for the current degenerated society we now live in."

My opinion on the death of the Airman at the football game.

Firstly, let me stress, this is my OPINION. I am not trained in these maneuvers, but I do have experience in the military and Air Force specifically.

The first thing I want to address is where I vehemently disagree… https://t.co/RK7phvVkIU

— Adam Simecka (@AdamSimecka) October 18, 2026

Cesspool Hustler said:

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The other thing I want to mention is something more sinister. All of the reports that initially came out suggested that he was "injured". It is my opinion, they did this for optics. They didn't want to ruin the game or look bad. So, they had to wait until much later to tell people how bad it really was.

This is, unfortunately, a perfect symbol for the current degenerated society we now live in."

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This was my thought too, except I think soft-peddling it was the right thing to do in the moment.