Air Force member goes missing during training jump over Gulf of Mexico
A member of the U.S. Air Force went missing during a training jump over the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. The Air Force said in a statement Wednesday that crews were still searching for the airman.
The Air Force said the airman "departed a C-130 aircraft" Tuesday morning over the Gulf of Mexico about 4 miles south of a military base in the Florida Panhandle. On Wednesday, crews have been searching a 700 square-mile area off the coast of the Panhandle between Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola.
The unidentified airman is with the Air Force's special operations force — known as Special Tactics — from the 24th Special Operations Wing based at Hurlburt Field, which is the headquarters for Air Force Special Operations Command.
The Air Force, Coast Guard and the Army were involved in the search, the Air Force said. The incident was under investigation.