A military service member was taken from the Alamodome on a stretcher after falling from the rafters during a pregame skills demonstration, and a UTSA spokesperson said the officer was transported to an area hospital.
Four officers were set to rappel to the field from the rafters at the Alamodome before the pregame coin toss for UTSA’s home game against Navy on Saturday night.
About halfway through the descent, one of the four appeared to slide down in an uncontrolled manner, crashing to the ground. No update on his condition was immediately available.
UTSA staff formed a semicircle around the motionless officer for about 10 minutes as medical personnel attended to the man, who was in combat fatigues. He was loaded onto a stretcher and carried out through the Alamodome tunnel.
The rappel team was from Detachment 2 of the 6th Combat Training Squadron. The Air Force unit trains tactical air controllers and operates from the Chapman Training Annex at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and from Camp Bullis, an Army training camp in northern Bexar County.
The matchup with Navy is UTSA’s annual Salute to Armed Forces and Veterans game. The emergency delayed the start of the contest by about 10 minutes.
“We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred at the start of tonight’s game. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the soldier who was affected, his family and his military colleagues,” UTSA said in a statement. “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.”
UTSA encourages students in need of assistance to contact the university crisis hotline at 210-458-4140 or access resources through the TimelyCare App. Academic campus employees can seek support through the Employee Assistance Program at 800-451-1834, and UT Health employees can receive assistance through their Employee Assistance Program at 800-356-3549.
As part of their training, they learn how to “fast rope” from structures 15 to 30 feet high, and they practice rappelling from helicopters hovering 100 feet or more above the ground.
This video shows personnel practicing both skills.