Boat diving fatality on Lake Michigan

[Leah Under the Sea]

So one of my coworkers recently disclosed that her friend's husband died in a scuba diving accident on Lake Michigan. It happened about 3 years ago. She said that the exact cause of the accident was never determined, but it was believed to be an equipment malfunction with his BCD (or as she called it, "flotation vest"). She said his buddy was on the boat when it happened, but it looked like his BCD just suddenly deflated and the victim was unable to make himself buoyant again, causing him to make a rapid, uncontrolled descent. His buddy entered the water and attempted to find him, but he lost visual contact and never found him. The body was later found down current of where the boat had been. The victim was found on the bottom with his mask partially removed.

My first thought was that he may have been severely overweighted when he entered the water. Even if his BCD really did deflate unexpectedly, proper weighting would have left him neutrally buoyant with a normal breath and empty BCD, right? And it seems logical that being only slightly overweighted would still allow you to fin up and slow your descent in the event of a BCD failure. Since Lake Michigan is usually pretty chilly, I'm guessing he was wearing a thick wetsuit...which, obviously, can make proper weighting more difficult.

My next thought was - what about ditching weights?

And: What about his regulator? Even if he was down to his reserve pressure, he still should have been able to get enough air to ditch weight and start finning back up. I guess he could have been using his snorkel when this whole chain of events started off, but the reg and octo were still there and could have been used when he went below the surface.

The fact that he was found with his mask partially removed kinda makes me think he panicked and tried to ditch equipment, but no one knows at what point that may have happened.

Is there something that I missed? I feel horrible knowing that he basically drowned, which is an awful way to die, and my coworker's description of the accident left me with a lot of questions about basic diving habits: always doing a weight check (conservatively, not with tons of weight to start), keeping your reg in your mouth on the surface, knowing where your weights are and how to ditch them quickly. Could these strategies have prevented an accident like this, or might it have happened anyway? Is it possible that his BCD somehow filled with water, adding more weight? Or that rough conditions could have pulled him under? I've been racking my brain trying to think of things that could have gone wrong other than diver error/inadequate skill level/panic/etc. If there's some secret thing I don't know about that could potentially deflate BCDs and pull divers under, I feel like I should know about it...being a newly certified diver, I am paranoid about everything, and stories like this don't help! I'm just curious about other factors that might contribute to a surprise descent.

 

[vincent54]

It's too vague of a description to know exactly what happened. He may have had a health related issue .. There is no secret to staying afloat or alive in diving. Familiarize yourself with your equipment and dive. The more you practice , the better the dive experience. In shallow water with a buddy, practice doffing and donning your gear. If a problem arises, you fall back on your training and you'll survive. Incidents under water always seem like they will kill you, most of the time they don't.

It does sound like he was over weighted, but river divers will put extra to stay planted to the bottom. I know I use to. Otherwise, with a near empty tank and deflated bc(water won't add any weight even if it ruptured) a diver should be able to float at the surface with a full lung of air. I like to have the weight adjusted so I just start to sink when I exhale. Don't take my word for it, the trained professionals can assist. I'm only Basic OW.

As a new diver, find a competent buddy. Together, work on buoyancy control and equipment familiarity(especially drysuit if you get one)... you'll be fine. PS dive, dive , dive

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

The fact that he was found with his mask partially removed kinda makes me think he panicked and tried to ditch equipment, but no one knows at what point that may have happened.

Interesting that you focused on this statement - how about he was dead and either the current or the bottom where he hit with his face dislodged his mask? I would imagine if it was panic - a mask is very easy to remove completely... My vote is he did not panic but had a medical issue - I was not there but having dove a bit and seeing some panic situations that is what I would imagine...

 

[Bob DBF]

Any failure that would empty a BC, especially quickly, would be easily found by the investigators after the accident.

Since we don't know if he was floating on the surface, or jumped in without having the jacket inflated enough even though it looked "full", it is hard to come up with a theory; although, I would think the latter.

A medical event would cover the rest, possibly panic if the diver was not completely incapaciated.



Bob
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That's my point, people, by and large, are not taught that diving can be deadly, they are taught how safe it is, and they are not equipped with the skills, taught and trained to the level required to be useful in an emergency.

 

[KathyV]

Do you know the name of the victim? Try searching google for his name along with terms like "Lake Michigan", "drowned", "fatality", "boating accident" or "scuba" and you may find more information about the event and the investigation. Such incidents are usually analyzed very thoroughly. Right now you have hearsay about the accident.