One of the main reasons I started this forum was so that we can share and discuss information and theories on accidents. Most times we will not be able to come to consensus on the cause but we can identify practices or instances where something could have increased risk to the diver and by speaking of these situations we're becoming more aware and safer divers. We may even, eventually, be able to assign a likelihood of a particular issue/activity/practice being a cause or contributing factor to accidents.
PLEASE RECOGNIZE THAT ALL DISCUSSION ON ACCIDENTS ARE REALLY THEORETICAL AND ANYTHING POSTED HERE IS SIMPLY THE OPINION OF THE POSTER. Every single one of use could end up being discussed on a forum such as this. If I should die while on a rebreather I want discussion to take place. I want my gear analyzed, my practices questioned, etc and I want those results shared. Please show respect to the deceased in all your posts as there's a chance his/her family and friends may find themselves reading our discussions. I have (I think) removed linkage to this forum from Google search results because I don't want people chancing on these discussions. They really are meant for rebreather divers' to review so that we can positively impact safety in our hobby. We owe that, at a minimum, to our families and friends.
Wes Skiles was an incredibly skilled artist and had vast diving experience, far more than almost anyone who will comment on this thread. I long admired his work and was, even though I never met him, very saddened by his loss. I've known other rb divers who have died on their units (admittedly I only knew them on the internet but interacted with them fairly regularly) but for some reason Wes's death hit me harder. I believe it's because he was such an icon. He expressed what I think most of us feel when diving to all those out there who don't and likely will never dive. Through his work he got across the sensation of being underwater and seeing the intricate workings of the undersea environment. His death was a loss for the world not just his close friends and family. I hope that by discussing accidents, his included, we can minimize the chance that the next great underwater artist is lost to the world. Condolences to his family, friends, and fans.
I have received copies of reports on the Wes Skiles accident from a friend who gained access to them through freedom of information policies in the state of FL. Components of Wes Skiles' unit were sent out for testing in hopes of identifying causes or contributing factors to his death.
The autopsy concluded that Wes died by drowning. There was moderate pulmonary edema and frothy fluid in his airway--evidence of barotrauma. Seven milliliters of clear fluid was found in the ethmoid sinus.
According to the Medical Examiner’s report (summarizing here, not word for word):
Four divers were diving approximately 3 miles east of the Boynton Beach Inlet. The divers went to a depth of approximately 76 ft. Near the end of the dive, Wes indicated to other divers that he was going to ascend to change out film/batteries. He was reported to have followed a line to the surface. Approximately 10 to 15 minutes later the other divers began their ascents. As they ascended the rope they looked down and saw Wes lying prone on the reef. The “regulator” was not in his mouth and he was unresponsive. His camera had drifted away from his body. The other divers brought him to the surface and placed him on the boat. The Coast Guard was contacted and CPR was initiated.
One of those on the boat reports that Wes put in new scrubber material and ran through pre-dive checks completing a pre-dive checklist. Seas were 4 to 5 ft with winds that were “not too strong”. The dive started around 1pm. When Wes was brought to the surface and CPR started copious amounts of water and vomit came out of his mouth and foam was observed in his nose and mouth. He did not respond to resuscitation attempts. Wes had not complained of any physical issues prior to the dive.
According to one of the other divers, conditions on the dive day were “pretty rough” with winds of 10 to 12 knots gusting to 15 or 20 knots. Waves were 4 to 6 ft with clear skies. Visibility underwater was approximately 50 ft. The boat was about 300 ft south from where they wanted to be and they made their way to the reef using the current (estimated to be 2 knots). After filling the 80 minute tape in his camera, Wes indicated to the other divers that he was heading to the surface. He proceeded North, with the current, using the dive line to ascend, and did not seem to be in a hurry or in distress. One of the other divers had previously ascended and was making his way back down to the other divers about the same time but did not see him. The three remaining divers ascended about 15 minutes after Wes started his ascent and were approximately 3 to 5 minutes into their ascent when they saw him on the reef at 55 to 60 ft. Wes was found with his arms out to the sides, mouthpiece out of his mouth, and mask still on his face. His BC was completely deflated and the rb was flooded with water. The diluent tank read zero while the O2 tank read 1100 psi. When the divers discovered Wes they attempted to provide air from an aluminum 80 bailout bottle while they ascended. Upon reaching the surface, weights in Wes’s dive rig were removed and he was placed on the charter boat. There was some concern that the other divers may have had the bends due to the ascent and the foam evident from the victim. The other divers were evaluated at the hospital and were found not to need recompression.
The second diver indicated that waves were basically 2 to 6 ft (mostly 2 to 4) and water temp was 23 Celsius. He reports visibility of 7 to 8 meters (23 to 26 ft). The area they were diving held finger like projections. After about 30 to 40 minutes at 21 to 22 meters (69 to 73 ft) they moved to a depth of 17 meters (56 ft). Three divers fed the fish while Wes filmed for about an hour. Wes appeared alert, active, and responsive the entire time. When the victim was found there was no evidence of blood or entanglement. He too witnessed Wes doing checks of the rebreather pre-dive.
A third diver reported the conditions that day were “rough and windy” with water temp in the high 70’s and seas of 4 to 6 ft. He reports that the dive started at 2 pm and that Wes was the first one in so that he could film the other divers. Wes had not been diving previously that day. This diver was on open circuit so returned to the surface after ~45 minutes and then re-entered the water ~35 minutes later. He estimates he had been back in the water for 25 minutes when the three divers ascended and discovered Wes’s body. This diver states that one of the other divers had a bailout bottle but it was not used on Wes during ascent. After discovering the victim on the reef the three divers inflated their BC’s and ascended with him in their arms. The camera was seen about 20 or 30 feet from where the body was found but was not recovered at the same time. Upon surfacing, this diver experienced tingling, a headache, and vomited. This diver witnessed, on the night prior to the dive, Wes change the scrubber cartridge and perform a pre-dive check.
The unit was examined by an RB instructor for that model of rb and found to be functional. The O2 sensors and scrubber cartridge were sent to NEDU (Navy Experimental Diving Unit) for analysis while the tanks, one diluent and one oxygen, were sent to Lawrence Factor for analysis.
The following comes from the reports mentioned above:
Three AI O2 sensors and the ExtendAir cartridge were sent to NEDU for testing. The cartridge was exposed to 1.6L/min of CO2 and was determined to still be effective at scrubbing exhaled CO2. The three sensors were tested for linearity with the results shown in the table linked here:
It appears that, at the time of testing, 2 of the 3 sensors were below AI guidelines for acceptable use (8.5 to 13 mV). One was 7.9, the next 8.3, and the third 11.2. While they were below guidelines, they appear to be relatively linear:
The tanks were sent to Lawrence Factor for analysis. The contents of the O2 bottle was 99.7% O2 with everything else within expected levels. The diluent bottle failed testing likely because it was empty and failed for the presence of unknowns (may have had water inside).
Wes was using a Shearwater Pursuit dive computer at the time of the accident but it was not connected to the sensors so there is no log of PPO2 throughout the dive. A printout of the dive profile was provided to the coroner and I will post it here. The examination of the unit by the RB instructor resulted in a report and portions of it were videotaped. The video from Wes’s camera was also reviewed during the investigation.
Here is a picture of the dive computer output (sorry it's a little hard to read):
Originally Posted by JamesK
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