Air Force commander plunges to death in front of horrified fans at football game

Air Force commander plunges to death in front of horrified fans at football game The air force member was performing a stunt as part of the pregame coin toss when he slid down a rope and hit the ground before being rushed to hospital An Air Force commander who fell 170 foot in front of thousands of horrified football fans has died. The airman was rappelling from the roof of the Alamodome stadium at the University of Texas game on Saturday when he slipped and plunged to the ground. The service member was part of a pregame demonstration at the school's “Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans” game. Videos posted on social media appear to show the moment the man loses control and slides down the rope. He then received medical treatment on the field for around 10 minutes before being rushed to a local hospital. UTSA staff formed a semicircle around him before he got taken off the pitch on a stretcher. He sadly died at the hospital. “Everyone was quiet, the band stopped performing. Everybody was dead silent,” Adrian Corey, who witnessed the fall, said to KSAT . The military demonstration was part of the pregame coin toss and featured four members carrying out the stunt, who are trained in descending from helicopters at heights over 100 feet. UTSA officials expressed concerns for the man at the time of the fall. A university spokesperson said: “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. “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.” “I’ve never had to deal with anything like that before,” coach Jeff Traylor stated. “It just puts things into perspective. It really does.” The American Conference also posted a statement saying they're “deeply saddened” by the incident. “We consulted with representatives of both participating member institutions, Alamodome management, local authorities and a working group to review the information available."