Diving Incident, Feb. 27, 2016, Chevron Oil Rig, Pensacola, Fl M/v Viking

[brynaura]

Does anyone have any information regarding this fatal scuba diving incident occurring on Saturday, February 27, 2016 involving M/V VIKING at the Chevron Oil Rig dive site off of Pensacola?

From what I am hearing, these are the series of events that took place...

Diver did not have a buddy and was not on the boat when the "dive guide" (Captain of Viking Vessel) returned as the last diver from diving the "Chevron Oil Rig".

After diver was noticed missing, another captain from another vessel went down to look for the diver and apparently found him unresponsive. A lift bag was attempted and was unsuccessful in getting the diver to the surface. Later, the captain from Viking went down and tied the diver to the anchor chain to get him to the surface. When the diver surfaced, he was found to have a full tank of air and was placed in the hands of the Coast Guard.

What do you know? Why could this diver not be brought up to the surface by another diver? Both captains on the scene are very experienced deep divers (i.e., technical and rebreathers). CPR should have been priority...was CPR ever done?

Thanks.
...a concerned "rescue diver"

 

[KevinNM]

I don't know anything about this accident other than what you posted but time is brain cells. Retrieval at 5 minutes aggressive CPR and other measures is certainly appropriate. At several hours plus not so much.

At best, CPR is not nearly as good at producing neurologically intact survival as TV would have you believe. It's the only option that exists in many cases, but it is generally not successful outside of witnessed collapses with rapid ALS response. People have survived neurologically intact with extended (like over an hour) of very effective CPR, but it is not the likely outcome.

 

[notadiver75]

Hi @brynaura, I came across this thread by accident while researching his cause of death. The deceased is a family member but I don't want to share details since I don't know anything about diving and may have incorrect terminology. The story you have is different than the one I got, in fact, he did have a dive buddy (the dive master?) and CPR was attempted, but it took them 30 minutes to get him to the surface. But regardless, the coast guard has said it was an accident due to a pulmonary embolism.

 

[Hetland]

Diver did not have a buddy and was not on the boat when the "dive guide" (Captain of Viking Vessel) returned as the last diver from diving the "Chevron Oil Rig".

No requirements for dive buddies or guides/divemasters. Most of the charter diving I've done in Florida is sans DM. The area between PCB and Pensacola seems to be more of an exception than a rule. Probably because of the nature of our dive sites (mostly artificial, surrounded by featureless sandy bottom).

After diver was noticed missing, another captain from another vessel went down to look for the diver and apparently found him unresponsive.

If he was on or near the bottom (~175ft at that site iirc), he's dead at that point. Impossible to safely ascend from that depth, and start CPR within the 10-minute window. It might take 10 minutes to get him on board from the surface depending on the design of the boat, and the manpower you have present, but from 175 is just not possible. No way.

A lift bag was attempted and was unsuccessful in getting the diver to the surface. Later, the captain from Viking went down and tied the diver to the anchor chain to get him to the surface. When the diver surfaced, he was found to have a full tank of air and was placed in the hands of the Coast Guard.

The full tank suggests a problem at, or near the beginning of the dive. He could have had a medical, could have had his tank valve off, malfunctioning regulator, buoyancy issue, the list is long, and there's little to narrow it with the info you've posted here.

What do you know? Why could this diver not be brought up to the surface by another diver?

The task is harder than you think, and likely to result in embolism in all but the most perfect executions. Time is needed to get an unresponsive diver to the surface without embolizing them. Time you don't have because their brain and heart cells are expiring by the second. You also have to ascend in a manner that's safe for yourself.

Both captains on the scene are very experienced deep divers (i.e., technical and rebreathers). CPR should have been priority...was CPR ever done?

I agree it's a priority, but from what you describe, CPR wouldn't have made a difference, especially if he was on the bottom, and most especially if he became unresponsive at the beginning of the dive.

 

[Hetland]

Hi @brynaura, I came across this thread by accident while researching his cause of death. The deceased is a family member but I don't want to share details since I don't know anything about diving and may have incorrect terminology. The story you have is different than the one I got, in fact, he did have a dive buddy (the dive master?) and CPR was attempted, but it took them 30 minutes to get him to the surface. But regardless, the coast guard has said it was an accident due to a pulmonary embolism.

Thank you for posting. This section is devoted to accident analysis, and how to prevent or avoid circumstances that can injure or kill divers. You may find some unpleasant postings related to your loved one in this part of Scubaboard. Many times, accidents and accident victims are dissected with a clinical, detached attitude. This isn't personal, and it's not intended to hurt the friends and family of the divers involved.

The mods do a pretty good job of removing content that falls outside the special rules applied here. If you see something that seems out-of-bounds, please contact a mod and let them know.

Speaking for myself, I'm sorry for the loss of your loved one, and I hope that you and your family are able to find the answers that can lead you to peace.

 

[notadiver75]

Thank you for your kind words, @Hetland. I'm glad there is a group that analyzes these sorts of things and I'm happy to offer any information I can. I am trying to understand what happened and with having a science background, I'm curious. From what I've been told, this was their 2nd dive of the day. From my limited knowledge, I thought that was why his "buddy" surfaced and he didn't. The buddy said they were both ready to ascend, he (the buddy) turned around to do something with a safety sausage (sorry if that's the wrong term) and then they became separated. He surfaced, the deceased did not. I assumed he (buddy) could not at any point go looking because he had to surface. Sorry if that doesn't make any sense, but again--amateur here.

Not sure what to make of the "full tank" thing. We were told immediately that he had "plenty of air" in the tank(s) and maybe somehow that translated to "full tank"? I don't believe it happened at the beginning of the dive. The buddy did say that the deceased was ok at the point of ascent. I'm assuming that is the end of the dive.

 

[Hetland]

Buddy - The buddy may have been low on breathing gas. He could also be at or approaching required decompression, or approaching his daily limit for oxygen exposure. It being the 2nd dive, there would likely be a residual load of Nitrogen in his tissues that still needed off-gassing. This would have further limited his run time.

Crossing lines in either of these three factors can cause injury or death. Breathing gas is obvious, decompression injury from gases in your tissues coming out of solution too fast for the body to manage, and oxygen toxicity (seizure) from breathing high O2 percentage gas for too long, or at inappropriate depths.

The Chevron is listed with a bottom of 137ft, but I think it's actually ~145 in the center of the legs. At that depth, you're operating at 5.39 atmospheres. That means filling your lungs takes 5.39x the gas molecules it does on the surface. Your gas is used quickly at that depth, and time is very limited.

So, from what you've added, I see four possibilities at the top of the list.

• Unrelated Medical. He could have suffered an unrelated (non-dive related) medical issue that prevented him from completing the dive.
• Embolism. Bringing an unresponsive diver up from depth will likely result in a postmortem pulmonary embolism (one of the reasons rescue is so difficult). If he ascended too quickly, or held his breath while ascending, he would likely suffer a perimortem expansion injury to the lungs/alveoli.
• IPE. Immersion Pulmonary Edema. This is a little-understood dive injury, which results in fluid in and around the lungs. It is survivable, but usually takes exceptional discipline and probably a little luck to make it through. Elements of the condition include over-hydration, immersion in water, cold. High blood pressure meds are thought to be a risk factor as well. This seems least-likely to me, because the victim would have almost certainly shown distress that the buddy would have noticed.
• Nitrogen Narcosis/Hypercapnia. While most recreational dive courses teach about the dangers of nitrogen narcosis, carbon dioxide narcosis and hypercapnia are mostly ignored. Short version is that nitrogen is narcotic and an anesthetic under high partial pressures. CO2 is an order of magnitude more narcotic and anesthetizing. Breathing air or nitrox at ~140ft takes more lung/diaphragm work. It's less efficient, and shallower than at the surface. Your regulator begins to lose efficiency at those depths, again, making it harder to breathe. Unless you're careful, you'll start to retain CO2, as you won't be fully emptying your lungs. Exertion, even just swimming contributes. Eventually your drive to expel CO2 causes you to breathe faster and faster (less efficiently) and you go to sleep.

This is all simplified of course, and I'm not an instructor/medical worker, but I think I've hit on the main elements that could have come into play here.

 

[Ayisha]

I am trying to understand what happened and with having a science background, I'm curious. From what I've been told, this was their 2nd dive of the day. From my limited knowledge, I thought that was why his "buddy" surfaced and he didn't. The buddy said they were both ready to ascend, he (the buddy) turned around to do something with a safety sausage (sorry if that's the wrong term) and then they became separated. He surfaced, the deceased did not. I assumed he (buddy) could not at any point go looking because he had to surface.

Thank you for your information. His buddy may have surfaced right away due to the reasons Hetland mentioned or possibly because a common plan that many divers are taught in case of separation is to search for one minute and then surface safely and continue to search for your buddy. It's possible that if the buddy felt distracted by the "sausage" deployment and thought they had already agreed to ascend, he may have assumed the victim was already on his way to the surface and might try to catch up, only to discover that he wasn't on the surface waiting for him. Just some possibilities.

Do you know if your family member had a computer that may have logged the dive? That might help to piece the dive together as well.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

 

[dmaziuk]

Not sure what to make of the "full tank" thing. We were told immediately that he had "plenty of air" in the tank(s) and maybe somehow that translated to "full tank"?

"Plenty of air" could've been said in the sense "he did not run out of air" -- that's a common cause of problems and it tends to trigger a cascade of failures. It does sound like the end of the dive, in which case "full tank" would be an exaggeration to put it mildly.

As @Ayisha says, they could have just as easily got separated in the "up" direction and the right place to look for him would be on the surface. Decision to go up and look there instead of down at the bottom could be just dumb bad luck -- but if he appeared OK and they were about to start the ascent, it would be the more likely choice I imagine. Now going back down after he's surfaced would very easily be problematic for the buddy due to lack of gas and accumulated deco obligation.

I too am sorry for your loss, my condolences to you and the family.

 

[notadiver75]

@Ayisha Thank you and yes--he did have a computer. The coast guard confiscated it and everything on his person. It took them several months to complete their investigation. Once we heard "accidental death" and "pulmonary embolism" (and also, "leading cause of diving death"), most everyone stopped asking questions.

I'm here because I know he lived for diving and had been doing so for the last 20 years. I just can't wrap my head around how such a safety conscience person can just drop dead suddenly. The autopsy did not show any other health issues, although he was on high bp meds, @Hetland (just about everyone in the family is though). From what I've read of embolisms, isn't there some sort of warning?

@dmaziuk Thank you as well.