Tragic incident: Airman drowns following unexpected cardiac event on Jet Ski

Staff Sgt. Kory Wade (right) and his father Mike Wade pose on their motorcyclesPhoto byMike Wade

According to a recently released Air Force inquiry into the incident, an airman had a heart attack while waiting for a training exercise on a lake in Arizona last June. He fell from the jet ski he was piloting and drowned.

This finding is in line with what Air Force Times found in local civilian medical and law enforcement documents late last year.

Staff Sgt. Kory Wade, a 33-year-old medical logistics technician assigned to the 48th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, was reported missing in Theodore Roosevelt Lake on June 10, 2023, and his body was discovered on June 17, 2023. In a press release issued after the tragedy, the funeral home confirmed his passing.

Local authorities and Air Force personnel conducted a search and found Wade's body from water approximately 130 feet deep, according to the accident investigation report issued on January 12. The report refers to Wade as "Mishap Operator 1." Despite being required to do so by both Air Force regulation and Arizona law, he was found without a life vest when his body was discovered, according to the service.

A cardiac event (possibilities include arrythmia, ischemia, and/or heart attack) occurred in the minutes leading up to Wade's drowning, the Air Force investigation stated, which caused him to fall into the water and plunge to the lake floor.

In support of search-and-rescue training operations scheduled to run through June 16, Wade was one of two individuals—the other being a contractor affiliated with the squadron—who arrived at Roosevelt Lake on the morning of June 14. It was reported that the three-hour journey from Davis-Monthan to Roosevelt Lake was generally uneventful. The contractor informed investigators that Wade had "appeared stressed" while rushing to the base's boat shop and to get groceries.

Wade and the unnamed contractor reportedly got to the lake an extra day before the 48th and 55th RQS, both of Davis-Monthan, were scheduled to conduct infiltration-and-extraction training in order to divert summer boat traffic away from the region.

According to the report, neither of the rescue squadrons' boats nor any of their members were supposed to be out on the water that day, and their participation was neither mandatory nor anticipated. According to the investigation, however, the two were supposed to assist the 68th RQS, another unit headquartered in Davis-Monthan, with training operations next week.

According to an earlier story by Air Force Times, an autopsy found that one of Wade's arteries had been 80 percent blocked due to plaque formation. The airman did not have a personal history of cardiac difficulties, according to the Air Force, even though others in his family had suffered from heart attacks. The investigation revealed two vaping devices, food, a wallet, an iPhone, and sandals in the Jet Ski's storage and a dry bag; he had smoked but stopped in 2021.

The Jet Ski that Wade was using had no known maintenance issues when the tragedy occurred, according to the Air Force.

Wade joined the Air Force in 2008, immediately following his high school graduation. According to the inquiry report, he arrived at the 48th RQS in February 2023 and assumed the position of boat master for his squadron.

According to his parents' interview with Air Force Times, he had also obtained a commercial driver's license in preparation for a potential second job path following his military service.

If Wade had been unable to swim due to a heart condition, his mother, Jill Betz, wondered if he would still be alive today if he had worn a life jacket. Betz denied ever second-guessing Wade's decision to enlist, though.

She informed Air Force Times in November that her husband's decision to join the military was the right one. Wow, it's incredible to witness the man they transformed him into. You won't believe it.

Edited by Newsbreak Contributor Denys Shybinskiy