Airmen who died during fitness test suffered sudden cardiac arrest, Air Force says

The airman who died during a physical fitness test last year died as a result of sudden cardiac arrest and had no pre-existing conditions, the Air Force said in a new report.

The report from Air Education and Training Command, released Aug. 12, found that Airman First Class Syamukonka Moonga collapsed shortly after finishing the 1.5-mile run segment of a practice physical fitness assessment on Aug. 4, 2025.  He was unconscious and without a pulse. Other trainees and the leader overseeing the training began attempting to resuscitate him. They attempted to get an automated external defibrillator to help the airman, but it shut off and would not restart. They, along with paramedics and EMTs, spent more than an hour working to revive him, but he was declared dead just over an hour after collapsing. 

Moonga was assigned to the 346th Training Squadron at Naval Base Ventura County-Port Hueneme, California, which trains vehicle maintenance personnel at the base.

The new Ground Accident Investigation Board report said Moonga had no pre-existing conditions and there were no environmental circumstances that day prior to his death. An autopsy found smaller coronary arteries than normal, but Moonga had shown no prior issues during earlier fitness tests.

According to the report, Moonga had completed the Physical Fitness Assessment twice during basic military training, first with a failing score and then with a passing score before graduating. That included taking his 1.5-mile run time from 14 minutes and 55 seconds to 12 minutes 27 seconds. Practice PFAs while with the 346th Training Squadron saw him earn “excellent” or “near-excellent” scores. Before the practice assessment on Aug. 4, airmen are able to tell training leaders if they have any injuries or health matters that could impact their training. According to the report, Moonga did not mention anything.

Moonga was originally from Zambia and enlisted in the Air Force in May 2025, graduating from basic military training two months later. He was only a few weeks into training with the 346th Training Squadron. “His classmates described him as having a positive attitude, beginning and ending each day with a smile,” the report said.  Last year, the squadron’s commander, in a statement identifying Moonga after his death, said that his “joy, kindness, and enthusiasm will be deeply missed.”

The 346th Training Squadron, despite being an Air Force unit, is based on a naval base. It’s a joint training program for airmen and naval personnel, training them on vehicle maintenance.

Investigators found no extreme heat or weather conditions that day, and Moonga had no significant past medical history or preexisting conditions. The autopsy ruled his death as natural, resulting from sudden cardiac arrest due to probable exercise-induced cardiac arrythmia. The medical examiner found Moonga had a healthy and normal-sized heart, but coronary arteries were smaller than normal, which might have contributed to the sudden cardiac arrest.