Annual Diving Report - Divers Alert Network

APPENDIX B. DIVE FATALITY CASE REPORTS
04-61 Inexperienced diver had buoyancy problems and weight problems on all dives of the
day, returned to boat through kelp bed and became separated from buddy, found
unconscious on the bottom
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Insufficient Air
This 37-year-old male was a certified diver with twenty lifetime dives. He was making a series of
dives from a boat. The diver had buoyancy problems during the first dive of the day. During the
initial stages of the second dive of the day, he first forgot his weight belt and only had weights in
his buoyancy compensator pockets. The diver returned to the boat and retrieved his weight belt
but he still had problems with buoyancy. The decedent and his dive buddy were returning to the
boat and went through a kelp bed, where they became separated. The decedent was found by
his buddy, unconscious and on the bottom. The decedent’s tank was empty. The autopsy
demonstrated changes associated with drowning. Additionally, there was evidence of aspirated
gastric contents and while the coroner felt that this was the cause of the drowning, in reality it is
most likely a result of the drowning and dying process. The diver drowned because he ran out of
air while diving.
04-70 Experienced diver diving with nitrox with group but went off solo, rapid ascent
according to computer, found unconscious on bottom
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Insufficient Air
This 40-year-old male was an experienced diver according to newspaper reports but there was
no documented certification or experience level made available. He made a dive from a boat in a
group of three divers but it was essentially a solo dive. The diver was found unconscious on the
bottom and could not be resuscitated. According to the decedent’s computer, he made a rapid
descent to 55 fsw (17 msw), spent 30 minutes on the bottom and then rapidly ascended to 4 fsw
(1 msw) before heading back to the bottom. The decedent’s tank was nearly empty. The medical
examiner stated that the diver must have planned a very deep dive since he was using Nitrox
(demonstrating a basic misunderstanding on his part regarding how Nitrox is utilized). The death
was ruled a drowning, though the history is typical for an air embolism. The autopsy did not
demonstrate significant intravascular gas or evidence of pulmonary barotrauma.
04-14 Experienced divemaster and technical diver made solo dive on Nitrox to a wreck
using a scooter, wreck shifted and trapped diver, body was recovered later
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Insufficient Air due to Entrapment (wreck)
This 43-year-old male was a very experienced diver with divemaster and technical certifications.
He made a shore entry, solo dive in a river down to a wreck at 50 ffw (15 mfw), using nitrox. The
diver was employing a scooter for mobility and also employed it to remove sediment from the
wreck. Apparently the wreck shifted enough to entrap the diver. He subsequently ran out of
breathing gas and drowned. The body was recovered four hours later. The autopsy report was
not released.
04-15 Recently OW certified diver, made solo dive inside cave, became entrapped in cave
and ran out of air, found in tight passage with equipment removed
Cause of Death: Drowning due to Insufficient Air due to Entrapment (cave)
This 27-year-old male had received his initial open-water certification two weeks earlier and had
completed twelve lifetime dives. He and two dive buddies planned to enter an underwater cave
system. One of the buddies could not descend and aborted his dive. The decedent and the other
buddy went to depth and surfaced, but the decedent then decided to return to depth alone. Police
divers recovered his body in a very unsafe, tight passage of the cave later that day. The diver had
Annual Diving Report: 2006 Edition 79