Incident Insights

Learning from your own mistakes and misfortunes is crucial, but don’t miss the opportunity to learn from others’.

DAN has maintained a diving incident database since 1989. Originally limited to scuba diving incidents, it now includes open-circuit scuba, breath-hold and rebreather incidents. We collect, analyze, anonymize and publish this data in the DAN Annual Diving Reports and in these insights for the benefit of the diving community. Often featuring expert commentary, these summaries help divers of all experience levels improve their risk management skills and identify safe diving practices. Scroll down to browse the case summaries, or use the search field to the right.

To report an incident, click here. DAN relies on divers to voluntarily report cases and near misses. No individual will be identified in any case reports published or presented orally. We appreciate every diver’s time and effort in telling their stories and sharing their insights.

Stranded While Drift Diving

Being stranded at sea is psychologically taxing as well as physically demanding. Hazardous marine life encounters, dehydration, exhaustion and hypothermia are all possible life-threatening scenarios.

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Cutaneous DCS With Transient Neurological Symptoms After a Hot Shower

Some divers experience skin bends only once in their dive history, while others might experience symptoms on multiple, random occasions.

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Laughing Out of Air

It is important to recognize that although a recreation, diving is a serious business; there is not much space for joking while diving.

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Savvy Diver Prevents Uncontrolled Ascent

An experienced diver with an underwater scooter saves an unprepared diver who overbreathed his regulator and attempted an emergency ascent.

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Regulator Free-Flow Leads To Failed Buddy Breathing

Hoses become entangled when a diver with a Hogarthian gear configuration helps an inexperienced diver with regulator free-flow.

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Abalone Diver Encounters Bull Shark

A diver being attacked or confronted by a shark is a rare occurrence; however, sharks can be attracted by vibrations emitted by wounded fish.

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Rebreather Diver Self-Treats Postdive Shoulder Pain (DCS)

Breathing oxygen at surface pressure is the best first aid. Technical divers usually have plenty of oxygen available as well as a demand regulator cleaned for oxygen use.

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DAN Will Help Divers With Breathing-Gas Analysis

In general, incidents involving breathing bad gas, whether that be compressed air, nitrox, trimix or other mixture, are rare. Sources of bad breathing gas vary, but could include impurities found in the air used for filling tanks, contaminants produced by a compressor, or the actual tank may be damaged or tainted.

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King Triggerfish Attacks, Wounds Diver

Triggerfish are very protective of their territory, and they will fight anybody and anything who encroaches it.

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Swapping Dive Computers

A dive computer is a personal device and is only as good as its record of all the diver’s dives separated by surface intervals shorter than 24 hours.

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