The U.S. Air Force reported that Airman fell from a C-130 military transport aircraft into the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast.
An Air Force statement said that fall happened during a parachute-jump training exercise out of Hurlburt Field.
The unidentified airman, who is assigned to the 24th Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla., “exited his aircraft during a jump training scenario over the Gulf of Mexico approximately 4 miles south” of the installation, the statement said.
Crew members aboard the C-130 initially saw the airman treading water but lost sight of him while making a turn in an effort to pick him up, the report said.
The Northwest Florida Daily News reported that the Coast Guard was also involved in the search, and that the airman fell out of a C-130.
U.S. Coast Guard personnel were assisting the Air Force as a search for the airman got underway in water about a mile and a half south of Santa Rosa Island, Fla., along the Florida Panhandle, WKRG-TV of Mobile, Ala., reported.
Responding crews were adjusting their search area based on currents in the area, Coast Guard Petty Officer Kamil Zdankowski told the Northwest Florida Daily News.