Alert Diver Category: Incident Insights

A diver felt pressure in his teeth during a descent but dismissed the pain. The pain became worse, forcing him to cut the dive short. Read more about this tooth-related dive incident.

A female diver’s routine dives went south when she had trouble equalizing. Postdive, she had discomfort in the ears that eased, but never fully healed. Read more of her incident.

During a recent dive trip to Chuuk, I really wanted to see the San Francisco Maru wreck. I never imagined, however, that I would have a near-death experience immediately upon entering the water. 

During a dive trip in Hawaii, a diver had a panic attack thinking he was running out of air after an equipment malfunction. Read more of his story.

Small, easy-to-ignore symptoms are often the first signs of decompression sickness. Read more about one diver’s incident.

I have been a fossil geek my entire life. In 2012 I moved to Charleston, South Carolina, and in the past 10 years I was able to turn a hobby into a living. Scuba diving for megalodon teeth in the nearby fossil-laden rivers, such as Cooper River, seemed like the most logical step seven years ago, and I haven’t looked back since then.

A divemaster hopeful had an unfortunate bout of decompression sickness during a routine dive. But it was through DCS treatment, that the diver discovered she had a heart condition.

Kelp can often entangle divers and result in anxiety and panic. Read an incident in which kelp entangled a diver and unfortunately resulted in his death.

Self-diagnosis can lead to delays in the medical care you need. Never assume — and be sure to contact DAN.

You might know me already or at least know about me. I came to Key Largo, Florida, in 1978 to open Captain Slate’s Atlantis Dive Center. Early on I had an affinity for the marine life on our reefs, and my earliest mentor, Steve Klem, had established ongoing fish-feeding activity on the City of Washington wreck.