Air Force investigators on Friday said they found no evidence that anyone pushed or threw an Air Force Academy cadet who broke his back in a fall from a dormitory window.
Nicholas Khan, a freshman, fell at least 30 feet from the dorm on March 13. His father, Charles Khan of St. Louis, has said his son was pushed by a senior cadet who was angry because Nicholas Khan, 23, accused the senior of making unwanted advances toward a female cadet.
The Khans did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment.
Academy spokesman Johnny Whitaker said the investigators had considered the possibility that Khan was pushed and determined “the only way he could have landed where he landed was if he jumped.”
Whitaker said investigators tried to recreate the incident based on Khan’s allegations that he was thrown out the window.
Investigators used a “mannequin kind of thing” similar to what firefighters use to practice with.
“They were unable to recreate the trajectory and landing point and everything, even using two people to throw the mannequin out the window,” Whitaker said.
He said there were inconsistencies in cadet Khan’s statements, and they conflicted with the statements of some witnesses.
Charles Khan has said the senior who allegedly pushed his son out the window is now a second lieutenant assigned to Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The alleged attacker’s name has not been released.
