Follow-Up: Air Force Tech Sgt. Ian Patterson Remembered by Father After Fatal Alamodome Rappelling Fall
SAN ANTONIO — The U.S. airman who died after falling during a pregame rappelling demonstration at the Alamodome before the University of Texas at San Antonio's football game against Navy on Saturday, October 17, has been identified as Technical Sergeant Ian "Patty" Patterson, 33. His father, John Patterson, spoke publicly for the first time in interviews published October 22, recalling his son's eagerness for the performance.
The New York Post reported on October 22 that Patterson served with the 6th Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 2, at Joint Base San Antonio — the squadron is headquartered at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada — as a Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) instructor who had been named the 2022 Air Force Special Warfare Enlisted Instructor of the Year, with 15 years of Air Force service. He attempted to rappel from the indoor stadium's ceiling, about 170 feet above the field, appeared to lose control of his descent and fell; medics treated him at the scene for about 10 minutes before he was taken to a hospital, where he died.
"I was very excited. I believe he wanted to do it last year as well…So this year he had the opportunity," his father John Patterson told WDRB and WAVE. Nellis Air Force Base confirmed Patterson's identity on October 18, and 57th Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Scott C. Mills issued a statement mourning him. A military investigation is ongoing. (GSM, from the New York Post and U.S. military statements)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 圣安东尼奥 Alamodome 体育馆（资料图）。照片：Greverod，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The Alamodome, San Antonio (file photo). Photo: Greverod, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-10-23Follow-Up: Air Force Tech Sgt. Ian Patterson Remembered by Father After Fatal Alamodome Rappelling FallThis story
