I indicated earlier that I would share what I know at the right time. The following is my brief firsthand account from which hopefully some lessons may be learned. At the time of this post the diver is still listed as a missing person, however given the time that has passed, all involved have accepted that he has succumbed. All following references to, "the diver," refer to him. The timing of events are my perception and may not be accurate. Time seemed to both slowdown and speedup at various times as the events unfolded. These are my observations, alone. Other people may have different interpretations of the events contained herein. I will attempt to limit the scope of my account to the relevant facts.
The diver was part of a group of eight of us from the Los Angeles area that had travelled to Pensacola for three days of diving. Seven of us, including a DM and MSDT, were part of a basic wreck specialty class. The diver was not involved in the class, however his wife was one of the students. There was one other guest on the boat, who was an AOW diver visiting from Europe.
I will note that throughout this event, the boat captain and crew acted with the utmost professionalism, competence, and compassion. The safety diver on the boat was a highly accomplished technical diving instructor. The boat took great care in assessing our experience and verifying credentials. The safety diver thoroughly briefed the group, to a level I've never seen, and then spent considerable one-on-one time briefing/discussing the dive site with the diver.
The diver made two solo dives on Day 1 and followed his profiles precisely. He made one dive to the screws and one to the hanger bay. One the morning of Day 2, I observed him talking with the safety diver while looking at drawings/pictures of the wreck. Later, I asked the diver what his plans for his first dive were and he told me that he was going to enter and go down the escalator, tour the hanger bay and then exit. I asked him how deep he was planning and he said 175'. I was just making a casual inquiry so that's as much detail as we discussed. I did not ask what his runtime was going to be, though that information was given to the safety diver and captain.
The diver had over 3000 lifetime dives, over 30 years, and over 200 dives on the KISS rebreather he was using. He did have a bailout bottle with him on these dives. He planned his dives meticulously and spent more time preparing for dives and maintaining his equipment than anybody I know. He was extremely focused and took his diving very seriously. He had no reported health problems, and was known to go to the gym regularly. Several months back, he gave our club a presentation on rebreather technology and dive techniques. On this morning, he appeared to be in a cheerful mood.
Once on site we tied off, and another dive boat (the tech charter mentioned above) tied off on our line. We got into the water with our class, descended to the top of the superstructure, and conducted our exercises. I did not observe the diver at any point from the time we descended to the time we climbed back on the boat.
Conditions this day were not quite as good as the previous day. In my estimation, there were about a 1-3' wind waves. Vis' was maybe 50-60' and there was a current, which I don't have the experience to judge speed. It did take a bit of effort to kick from the line to the smokestack. Water temp at 100' was around 71 degrees and 77 degrees on the surface according to my computer.
The last person out of the water was the safety diver. As the diver was approaching the expected end of his dive, the Captain asked if he had been seen on the line. Nobody had seen him. Not long after he was noted overdue, the first question asked was if he was prone to changing his profile, to which his wife and our trip leader responded with a firm, "no, never."
Several other questions were asked as time progressed (a few minutes) to ascertain the divers health, state of mind, condition of equipment, etc. The safety diver returned to the water to see if he could spot him on the line, but he was not there.
I don't recall the exact sequence of events following, but within the next half hour, the safety diver made a dive to the hanger opening and returned reporting that he had shined his light all around the hanger and did not see him. The call went out to the Coast Guard. The other dive boat which, as reported above, had scratched their dives but volunteered to remain onsite and assist. After discussion with the Captain and safety diver, our trip leader, made a dive to the base of the tower to do a quick survey. He surfaced and reported he did not see him. We also made ready an O2 kit and AED while the safety diver was in the water.
By this time, the Coast Guard and assets from at least 3 other agencies were enroute. Several fishing boats in the area immediately offered assistance and began to search North of our position.
Everybody on the boat was scanning the water around us looking for any sign. At one point, 5 or 6 of us thought we saw a SMB a few hundred yards away. It appeared to be laying down in the water and not standing up as if under tension from a line or being held up by a diver. The Captain requested the other dive boat search in the area it was spotted. The diver was carrying at least one 8' SMB as part of the boat's DAN check in/out procedure. The other dive boat did not find what we thought we had seen and we did not see it again. Later during the day, a Hawksbill turtle surfaced near the boat. Given the orange-ish color of the turtle, several of us concluded that what we thought we had seen was in actuality a turtle.
Early on we were told that three volunteer technical divers were gearing up to come out that afternoon. I don't know if they ever did make it out, and did not hear anything further about them.
We remained on site until late in the afternoon, while the search continued around us. The fixed wing CG assets on site dropped two GPS enabled buoys to determine where and at rate a person on the surface would drift. With permission of the wife, the boat hauled up the line, and we returned to port. The boat left a marker buoy behind onsite. We were met at the dock by a Coast Guard investigator who took statements from all involved.
That evening, as reported above, a team of 12 divers assembled and prepared throughout the night to execute an underwater search and recovery off our dive boat the next morning. Our trip leader was allowed to go out with them, but was not permitted to dive, which he agreed was appropriate. He said of the team, that they were the most highly trained, qualified, and equipped group of divers he had ever seen and said that he felt like boy scout in their presence. Unfortunately, and not entirely unexpectedly, they were unable to find the diver. We met them at the dock and they debriefed the diver's wife. They told us that they circumnavigated the wreck, and thoroughly search all probable routes high and low.
Later that evening, representatives of the Coast Guard, a Captain, and the Lieutenant Commander overseeing the operation, met with us to tell us they were suspending the search. They explained the search methods employed and shared charts showing the extent of the search and the patterns of the individual assets. As a former Civil Air Patrol Mission Scanner, I was impressed. They also showed the diver's wife a draft of the press release to follow, which she approved.
It is with extreme gratitude, first to our safety diver, and to the Captain of our boat, that we thank you for your efforts. I would not hesitate to dive with you again. We thank our new friend from Europe for all of the assistance and comfort he provided while on the boat. Thank you to the Captain of the other boat that remained onsite to assist us. Thank you to all the men and women of the Coast Guard and other agencies involved. To the 12 divers, 10 of whom were volunteers, we saw the pain in your eyes, and how heavy your hearts were, as you stepped off the boat with your heads hung low. Every one of you is a hero to us. Thank you.
I'm not sure what lessons you will, or can, draw from this account or from the details released. We likely know all we will ever know of this tragedy. Truly, there is no telling what went wrong, or how it could have been prevented. We do not know if it was equipment induced, diver error, entanglement, or health related. There is no telling that having a buddy, or diving open circuit, would have made any difference in terms of his survival. All we know, is that he went down, and never came back. May he rest in peace.
