A search is underway for a staff sergeant in training who disappeared into the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday afternoon during a training exercise
The unidentified Air Force airman was from the 24th Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field in Okaloosa County, Florida
He exited a C-130 four engine aircraft around 1.45pm from a height of 1,500 feet
He deployed his parachute and was last seen treading water in the Gulf, approximately four miles south of Hurlburt Field
As the aircraft turned to retrieve the man, crewmen lost sight of him
Several vessels, three Air Force aircraft were deployed in the search
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Coast Guard are also on the scene


A desperate search is underway for a missing airman who disappeared into the Gulf of Mexico after suffering a parachute-jump mishap during a training exercise while exiting a Special Operations military plane.

The unidentified Air Force airman from the 24th Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field was exiting a C-130 four-engine aircraft over the Gulf of Mexico around 1.45pm Tuesday when he suddenly vanished into the water below.

'The fall happened during a parachute-jump training exercise out of Hurlburt Field,' a report from the Air Force Times said.

The Coast Guard said the airman was a staff sergeant in training and fell out of the aircraft at 1,500 feet, according to WEAR.

Some witnesses on that plane reported seeing the airman's parachute deploy and saw him treading water, according to Coast Guard officials.

daily mail
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