# Air Force sergeant dies in stadium abseiling accident

> Sgt Ian Patterson fell from the Alamodome ceiling during a pre-game ceremony at a Texas college football match on Saturday.
- Title: Air Force sergeant dies in stadium abseiling accident
- Summary: Sgt Ian Patterson fell from the Alamodome ceiling during a pre-game ceremony at a Texas college football match on Saturday. Sgt Ian Patterson of the US Air…
- Keywords: sgt ian patterson, us air force, alamodome, san antonio, utsa, naval academy, abseiling accident, news, world, Air, Force, sergeant
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crd6dn63j2xwo
- Published: 2026-10-19T14:13:18.334+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: sgt ian patterson, us air force, alamodome, san antonio, utsa, naval academy, abseiling accident, news, world
## Airman falls during pre-game ceremony
Sgt Ian Patterson, a Tactical Air Control Party instructor at Joint Base San Antonio, fell while abseiling from the Alamodome ceiling during a ceremony before the UTSA Roadrunners played the Navy Midshipmen on Saturday.
## The stadium is one hundred seventy feet high
Footage shows Patterson plummet feet first to the turf at San Antonio's one hundred seventy foot high Alamodome. He died in hospital following the incident.
## Game continued after his death
The match between UTSA and the Naval Academy went ahead as planned. A collegiate athletic association said the decision to continue was made before Patterson's death had been confirmed.
## Key takeaway

Sgt Ian Patterson of the US Air Force died after falling while abseiling from the Alamodome ceiling before a UTSA versus Naval Academy football game on October nineteenth.