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Tech. Sgt. Brett Corriveau, 39th Rescue Squadron loadmaster, scans the waters of the Gulf of Mexico from the inside of an HC-130P/N Combat King aircraft for any sign of the missing Airman from the 24th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Florida on Nov. 6, 2019. Search and Rescue Airmen from the 920th RQW departed the base at approximately noon to join the search for the missing Special Tactics Airman.

Tech. Sgt. Brett Corriveau, 39th Rescue Squadron loadmaster, scans the waters of the Gulf of Mexico from the inside of an HC-130P/N Combat King aircraft for any sign of the missing Airman from the 24th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Florida on Nov. 6, 2019. Search and Rescue Airmen from the 920th RQW departed the base at approximately noon to join the search for the missing Special Tactics Airman. (Kelly Goonan/U.S. Air Force)

The Coast Guard on Friday suspended its search for the airman who fell from an aircraft over the Gulf of Mexico three days ago, according to the service.

The Air Force has now taken control of the search as it transitions to a recovery effort for the special tactics airman who fell from a C-130 fixed-wing aircraft during training Tuesday at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

The airman, who has not been identified, fell from the aircraft Tuesday at about 11 a.m. over the Gulf of Mexico, south of Hurlburt Field, during a planned static-line jump, according to a news release from the base’s 24th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs. The incident is still under investigation.

Coast Guard air and boat crews spent more than 130 hours searching more than 4,909 square-nautical miles since Tuesday, according to a service news release.

“We would like to extend our gratitude to all of the federal, state and local units that have aided in the search for our airman, especially the U.S. Coast Guard,” Col. Matt Allen, commander of the 24th Special Operations Wing, said in a statement. “We will continue our recovery effort as long as circumstances and resources allow to bring our airman home.”

Recovery teams are refining and adjusting the search area as efforts continue. The name of the missing service member will be released following next-of-kin notification, according to a news release.

Since Tuesday, crew searched ocean between Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola. Hurlburt Field, headquarters of Air Force Special Operations Command, is located near the Alabama state line on the Florida Panhandle.

Aside from the Coast Guard, Army units from the region assisted the Air Force in the search, as did the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, according to the release.

thayer.rose@stripes.com Twitter: @Rose_Lori

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Rose L. Thayer is based in Austin, Texas, and she has been covering the western region of the continental U.S. for Stars and Stripes since 2018. Before that she was a reporter for Killeen Daily Herald and a freelance journalist for publications including The Alcalde, Texas Highways and the Austin American-Statesman. She is the spouse of an Army veteran and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in journalism. Her awards include a 2021 Society of Professional Journalists Washington Dateline Award and an Honorable Mention from the Military Reporters and Editors Association for her coverage of crime at Fort Hood.

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