Alert Diver Category: Incident Insights

I REMEMBER SITTING AT MY COMPUTER while thinking about all the ibuprofen I had been popping for the past 18 hours and wondering why I still had the dull, aching […]

While growing up I had two lifelong goals: become a diver and join the military to be part of the elite Special Operations Forces. I became a certified diver in 1994, when a close friend convinced me to plunge into Louisiana’s lakes with him, and I joined the U.S. Army a year later.

All diving has risks. To mitigate them, we must always pay attention to the details. The predive safety check is of utmost importance to help avoid a dive accident. The key elements are for each buddy to check the other’s BCD, weights, releases and air, and then give a final check and decisive OK. I could have avoided the entire incident had I adhered to my predive safety check and not gotten distracted, and I should have performed the safety check again before getting in the water.

Decompression illness (DCI), which includes both AGE and DCS, is not always predictable with regard to when and to whom it occurs. It can be equally difficult to predict with regard to recovery.

I TAKE A GIANT STRIDE off the back of the boat and splash into a cascade of tingling, magical bubbles. The sea’s embrace is chilly; I can feel the 74˚F water through my 5 mm wetsuit and thick 4 mm hood. My vision clears as the …

Although uncommon, unprovoked sea lion bites can occur, and divers should be aware of the potential hazard. Learn more about how one diver received a bite and how the wound was treated.

Skin bends can prevent unfamiliar symptoms and may go unnoticed or underreported. If you’re experiencing skin bends or unknown symptoms, call a doctor. Read an incident of skin bends.

DAN EMERGENCY SERVICES RECEIVED A CALL via satellite phone from a liveaboard anchored off a remote island in the Galápagos. A DAN member was concerned about their bunkmate exhibiting symptoms […]

Read one diver’s story about how a routine dive resulted in vomiting and other uncomfortable symptoms.

A mother opens up about losing her daughter in a dive accident. The incident was a result of her daughter and the dive buddy being inexperienced for the dive. Read more of this painful story.