Annual Diving Report - Divers Alert Network

APPENDIX B. DIVE FATALITY CASE REPORTS
B.5 Proximate Cause: Drowning / Insufficient Air
04-32 Uncertified diver on second lifetime dive from shore in poor visibility, ran out of air
and was witnessed to be in distress at surface, she descended during surface swim to
shore, recovered hours later
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Insufficient Air
This 38-year-old female was uncertified and making her second lifetime dive. There are
conflicting stories between whether she entered the water alone or with her boyfriend, who was a
divemaster. It was a shore entry dive with poor visibility to a depth of 15 ffw (5 mfw) in a lake. If
she was diving with a buddy they became separated. Witnesses saw her have trouble at the
surface and then she descended again during the surface swim back to shore. Her body was
recovered 2 hours later. An autopsy was performed but the report was not made available. The
decedent’s tank was empty. The cause of death was reported to be drowning.
04-39 Inexperienced diver with asthma and heart disease, on medications, diving with
buddy and separated, found later unconscious on bottom
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Insufficient Air
This 50-year-old male had been certified for less than a year and had minimal diving experience.
His medical history included mild asthma for which he used an inhaler. The decedent was diving
for scallops with a buddy and spent 30 minutes at approximately 60 fsw (18 msw). The divers
became separated and the decedent was found on the bottom unconscious. He was pronounced
dead at a local hospital. The autopsy disclosed changes associated with drowning as well as mild
coronary artery disease. The diver’s tank had 60 psig remaining when it was examined. The
exact contribution of the natural disease processes cannot be determined, but it is more likely a
drowning due to running out of air.
04-47 Diver with moderate experience but dived infrequently, diving at higher altitude with
buddy, separated and found later unconscious, floating on the surface
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Insufficient Air
This 53-year-old female was a certified open-water diver with moderate experience, but she was
an infrequent diver. She made a dive into a lake with a buddy to approximately 30 ffw (9 mfw).
The lake was located at an altitude of greater than 8000 feet. As the dive progressed, her buddy
noticed that the decedent was low on air and signaled for her to meet him at the safety stop.
When she did not arrive at the safety stop the buddy searched for the diver. She was found
minutes later, unconscious and floating on the surface with her buoyancy compensator inflated.
Her tank was empty. An autopsy report was not made available but the medical examiner
determined the cause of death to be drowning.
04-57 Diver with unknown experience made a dive with buddy to wreck, ran out of air,
separated from buddy, found unconscious on bottom
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Insufficient Air
There is little information about the death of this 47-year-old female. Her dive certification status
and diving experience are unknown. She and a buddy made a dive from a boat into a lake to look
at a wreck. The decedent had some sort of an out of air emergency at 60 ffw (18 mfw), and the
divers became separated. The diver was found unconscious on the bottom. An autopsy was
performed, but the findings were not made available.
78 Annual Diving Report: 2006 Edition