USCG Divers Die in the Artic

Diver_C · Post by **Diver_C** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 8:41 pm

Two Seattle-based Coast Guard divers die in Arctic Ocean

Seattle Times staff

Two Seattle-based Coast Guard divers died Thursday while diving in the Arctic Ocean, about 500 miles north of Barrow, Alaska.

Lt. Jessica Hill, 30, of St. Augustine, Fla., and Petty Officer 2nd Class Steven Duque, 26, of Miami, were assigned to the Cutter Healy.

The ship was on a scientific mission when the deaths occurred, according to the Coast Guard.

Hill and Duque were on a practice dive familiarizing themselves with the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean, the Coast Guard said. The cause of this dive accident is under investigation.

The 420-foot Healy is one of three polar ice breakers operated by the Coast Guard. Healy is primarily used for Arctic science operations under sponsorship of the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company

DiverDown · Post by **DiverDown** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 9:26 pm

Damn, I hate to here about things like this!!

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 11:32 am

This doesn't look good:

http://www.komotv.com/stories/45205.htm

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 12:39 pm

"Tippets also said that investigators are looking into whether the ship had been idled and pumps and propellers had been disengaged at the time of the accident, as standard procedure would have dictated."

"The captain of the Coast Guard cutter Healy has been temporarily relieved of duty following the deaths of two crew members during a dive in the Arctic Ocean this month."

"Vice Adm. Charles D. Wurster, commander of the Coast Guard in the Pacific, cited "a loss of confidence in the officer's ability to command," the statement said."

Read between the lines... I'm sure we'll hear the final report, but it doesn't sound good at all.

lostnbrownsmead · Post by **lostnbrownsmead** » Wed Nov 22, 2006 7:17 am

Heres more about the Divers, just released

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/293 ... ths22.html

Jay

JDR · Post by **JDR** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 3:13 pm

Friday, January 12, 2007 · Last updated 12:33 p.m. PT

Coast Guard reporting on deaths of icebreaker divers

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEATTLE -- The Coast Guard cites a number of safety failures for the deaths of two divers from the icebreaker Healy.

The results of the investigation released today in Seattle indicated the two may have carried too much weight -- 60 pounds of lead and steel -- twice normal. That could have caused buoyancy problems with dry suits, which require that air pressure be adjusted during the dive.

One diver sank to 200 feet and the other to 187 feet. Both were pulled rapidly to the surface by ropes. Autopsies show they died of lung damage caused by excessive pressure (pulmonary barotrauma).

The Coast Guard report says the divers and crew failed to follow safety procedures during the dive under the ice last August when the Healy stopped about 500 miles north of Barrow, Alaska.

The two were 31-year-old Jessica Hill of Saint Augustine, Florida, and 22-year-old Steve Duque (doo-KAY') of Miami.

Duque was a member of the crew and Hill was the ship's science officer. Both had attended the Navy's dive school.

The ship's captain was relieved of duty after the deaths.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/642 ... ource=mypi

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 10:21 pm

"Pulmonary Barotrauma?" From the descent? I have never heard of that. Shortly after these deaths,I met a USCG diver who told me these fatalities were due to the diver's tanks being filled with 100% 02 instead of air. This explanation sounds pretty screwy to me.

Scubak · Post by **Scubak** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 12:03 am

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/642 ... eaths.html

Dmitchell · Post by **Dmitchell** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 9:20 am

http://www.uscg.mil/ccs/cit/cim/foia...CG%20HEALY.htm

You have to read the whole story. There were a ton of things done wrong, the divers were in over their heads and didn't know when to quit. Tenders were untrained and had had a couple beers, weighting was a mess, didn't hookup the BC's, Gloves leaked an so on. They should have called the dive before it even started.

DM

Nwbrewer · Post by **Nwbrewer** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 1:01 pm

In the Seattletimes today there are some pics from the party that was going on during the dive, and several of the divers getting geared up. I can't figure out how to post a link to the pictures, but they're easy enough to find on the website.

I'm in no way a trained tech diver, but if I'd been shown the rigs they were going to use, under the ice, no way I would've done that dive. If you look through the pictures you can see a couple of things that to me seemed a little strange.

In one picture you can see a rig sitting on the ice. It's hard to tell from the small picture, but it looks like there were only 4 hoses coming off a single 1st stage reg on a single tanks. (Not doubles, no pony) That would be Primary, octo, Spg, and one inflator. I guess that explains why they didn't have hose on thier BCDs.

In another picture it looks like Lt. Hill's Drysuit was way to big for her.

Th only other thing I thought was odd is that it looks like the tanks all have vis inspection stickers from Underwater sports. Anybody else notice that? I wonder if some of what they were diving was thier own gear?

This appears to have been an easily preventable tragedy. My condolences to the divers family and friends.

Jake

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 2:19 pm

That sucks and seems like it could have been prevented. There are several troubling aspects of those pictures.

coachrenz · Post by **coachrenz** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 7:35 pm

Nwbrewer wrote: Th only other thing I thought was odd is that it looks like the tanks all have vis inspection stickers from Underwater sports. Anybody else notice that? I wonder if some of what they were diving was thier own gear?

Jake

If you actually look at all the documents that the CG actually posted as "evidence" you will see that some of the equipment was purchased at Underwater Sports. The CG has a base here in Seattle, why wouldn't they buy stuff from a local dealer?

Healy Report and Documentation

Look at the related documents - plan to spend a couple of days looking through this.

Tim

Neutral Buoyancy · Post by **Neutral Buoyancy** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 10:12 pm

Sad. It sounds like they were pulled up to quickly. It's unfortunate they didn't release their own weights when their uncontrolled decent started. I read a lot of articles about dive accidents and most of the time the divers are found with their weights still on them. It makes me wonder if, in a panic, we as humans/divers forget all about those quick release weight thingiees. And, if I would remember, for that matter.

Diver_C · Post by **Diver_C** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 8:45 pm

None of their 52 pounds of weights were quick releasable. Even if they were, if the one diver was unable to make the okay sign at the start of the dive due to being too cold, how could he have used the quick releases? There are a lot of "why on earth did/didn't they"-type of questions from that accident. The Coast Guard's dive program is/was a mess in out it was run, if this dive is any indication. This whole accident is very, very sad.

Neutral Buoyancy · Post by **Neutral Buoyancy** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 9:53 pm

I didn't read the part about one of the divers being to cold to make an ok signal. The whole thing sounds like a big mess.

Zen Diver · Post by **Zen Diver** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 2:58 am

Diver_C wrote: This whole accident is very, very sad.

Using the word "accident" implies unforseeability. With all the issues that have come out, a disaster was definitely a forseeable possibility. Death? Even likely. "Accident" implies that it was a act of God or nature, and implies a release of responsibility, but in fact, it was an act of human foibles. That's why car crashes, at least in emergency medicine circles, are no longer referred to as "MVA" or "Motor Vehicle Accident", but rather "MVC" or "Motor Vehicle Collision" (or Crash).

Most diver deaths are not accidents at all, IMHO.

-Valerie

Dmitchell · Post by **Dmitchell** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 10:17 am

Neutral Buoyancy wrote:Sad. It sounds like they were pulled up to quickly. It's unfortunate they didn't release their own weights when their uncontrolled decent started. I read a lot of articles about dive accidents and most of the time the divers are found with their weights still on them. It makes me wonder if, in a panic, we as humans/divers forget all about those quick release weight thingiees. And, if I would remember, for that matter.

Just my opinion, I think they were dead on the bottom, he was out of air and she was down to 90psi which would not have been enough to cycle the first stage at that depth. The embolized when they are pulled up because the airways were closed and they had almost 6 times the air in their lungs at depth that they could handle on the surface. In my opinion (for what that's worth) the embolism or over expansion isn't what killed them it was running out of air.

As far as the weights go. I see two issues, obviously not dumping them they did in fact have some ditchable weight in the integrated pockets. (from the report) The second was just total poor planning.

Had they of dumped the weight at 200', they more than likely would have not only embolized but would have hit the bottom of the ice so hard that it would have killed them anyway.

Dave

BbbleMkr · Post by **BbbleMkr** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:03 pm

I'm with Valerie but, in my head, I'm not nearly as diplomatic or nice about it. Poor planning and flawed execution killed those divers.

A friend of mine said the problem was the divers weren't scared enough. I told him I didn't like the word scared because it implied an irrational impediment that could keep you from accomplishing a necessary or desired outcome. Ok, he said, the divers did not exercise enough "deliberate care and caution commensurate with the goal at hand". That's an alliteration I can get behind.

Diving is unnatural (you bring your necessary environment with you) and will kill unless you have a healthy respect of the danger. From what I've read, these divers wanted to get in an ice dive before the boat left and before the opportunity was lost. In their haste, they disregarded many, many crucial steps that are drilled into divers in classes and, hopefully, on each dive which create the redundancies that keep us alive in case of problems.

It is sad, but it's sad because it was avoidable. I'm buoyed by the thought that the Coast Guard will institute more training and more careful equipment caretaking into their decision making. I'm also buoyed by the diving communities attention to these deaths. Because, now that it's over, all we have left is two bodies and a laundry list of what not to do.

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Mon Jan 29, 2007 6:11 pm

If any of you can, pick up a copy of the January 22nd issue of Navy Times. there is a multi-page report in there covering what happend as well as the results from the Admiral's Mast in which the Commanding Officer, the Executive Officer and the Operations Officer received career destroying punishments.

The entire operation was a CF. Apparently the dive locker was a "shambles" with much equipment being non-operational. The young lieutenant leading the dive had allowed her qualifications to lapse and was no longer even authorized to dive, let alone lead an ice dive in the arctic.....the list of the problems and errors just goes on and on.

Such a horrendous shame......

- John

Sergeant Pepper · Post by **Sergeant Pepper** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 6:51 am

They had dispersed too much line for a 20 ft dive... you think? I think 220' is a little over 20'. Kids with too much balls and not enough brains. Truly tragic.

RDW · Post by **RDW** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 11:24 am

Please stop referring to our folks in our armed services as "kids". Many of those people are educated, hard-working adults. This sad incident brings to mind that even the "adults" screw-up too. "Too many balls, not enough brains", applies evenly across the age range.
I served for three years on the USCGC Polar Sea WAGB 11. I was not a kid. I was well over 21 back then. I too was a USCG qualified diver. (both SCUBA and 2nd class diver). When I left the ship (almost 3 years) I had logged 147 dives under Arctic and Antarctic ice.
It was one of the highlights of my 24 years in the service.

Sasquatch · Post by **Sasquatch** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 7:28 pm

RDW wrote:Please stop referring to our folks in our armed services as "kids". Many of those people are educated, hard-working adults.

Yeah, but they're so damn young.

.

Sergeant Pepper · Post by **Sergeant Pepper** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:54 pm

Not intended to ruffle any feathers. "Too much balls and not enough brains"... I resembled that remark at one time, and hope a little less so nowadays.

Northwest Dive Club

USCG Divers Die in the Artic

USCG Divers Die in the Artic

Results of investigation

Seattle Pi