10 replies to this topic

[Latitude Adjustment]

"August, 20, 2006

Man dies after Oriskany dive

Michael Stewart
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

A man who had just surfaced after diving Saturday afternoon on the Oriskany died of unknown causes.

Details of the incident were sketchy and there were conflicting reports of what actually occurred.

A U.S. Coast Guard boat was dispatched to meet a recreational boat en route to shore with a man who experienced problems after a dive on the decommissioned aircraft carrier, Petty Officer Troy Smith said.

"It was diving related," Smith said.

However, Stan Kirkland, regional spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said the man was back in the boat from the dive when he became ill so he was not considered to have suffered a diving accident.

"Apparently, he may have had a heart attack," Kirkland said.

A dispatcher with the Escambia County Sheriff's Office said the call for medical help for a cardiac arrest went out at 1:30 p.m.

"They were diving and he had some complications," the dispatcher said.

The man was transported to the Coast Guard station at Pensacola Naval Air Station, where he was pronounced dead. His body was transported to the Medical Examiner's Office in Pensacola.

The incident highlighted potential jurisdictional problems over accident investigations at the Oriskany. Protocol dictates that only the agency in charge of an investigation release specific information to the media.

Smith said Fish and Wildlife was in charge of the investigation. An official at Fish and Wildlife said the Escambia County Sheriff's Office was handling the investigation, but sheriff's spokesman Mike Ward said that was not the case.

As a result, no information was available on the man's identity, age or address.

A call to the on-duty medical examiner never made it past the switchboard. A woman who answered the phone relayed a message from the medical examiner that media inquiries would have to wait until Monday.

Curtis Freeland, a diver and employee at Dive Pros in Pensacola, said he would not be surprised if the fatality turns out to be dive related.

The Oriskany, sunk in 212 feet of water, is not an ordinary dive, he said.

"Honestly, (accidents are) somewhat expected on the Oriskany," Freeland said. 'Most charter boats require divers go down with a dive master, but you have a lot of people going out there in private boats.'

[PerroneFord]

There is a lot of anger in the diving community about how this was handled by the paper. Apparently, the gentleman had a history of heart problems according to the family.

Many think this was an overzealous reporter trying to get the "First Oriskany death story", and nothing more. Apparently, story ran in full color on the cover of the paper.

[ScubaDadMiami]

Although the original post headline makes it sound like this death was caused by the dive on this wreck, this is quite possibly a death that just happened to occur after a dive on the wreck, having nothing to do with the wreck or the dive itself.

If someone had a heart attack after arising from a nap, would an appropriate headline be: "Man/Woman Dies After Serta Perfect Sleeper Nap?"

[Latitude Adjustment]

I guess the SD censor doesn't want you to "Be carefull down there!", it was removed from my post.

[Dive_Girl]

I guess the SD censor doesn't want you to "Be carefull down there!", it was removed from my post.

Changing the title to better explain the subject is not censorship - your "be careful down there" has been returned to the sub title.

[Mitch0129]

It does sound like this guy could have died when he was out mowing his grass, attending a football game, or driving down the freeway. It also could have happened right after a shallow dive at the Fort Pickens Jetties. It just so happened right after he came up from a dive on a deep wreck.

I am sure the local Pensacola was looking for a sensational story ...

[Latitude Adjustment]

Amy Sowder
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

The Medical Examiner's Office is expected to release today the name and cause of death of the man who died Saturday during or after diving on the Oriskany.

However, one area diver said Sunday that the diver was the owner of a local shop and that the man may have died of a medical problem unrelated to the dive.

A clerk at the store refused to confirm that information and said a manager would be available to talk to the media today.

Stan Kirkland of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also said Sunday that there was a possibility the man's death was not diving related.

The death of the man at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday, during or after his dive to the decommissioned aircraft carrier, is the first death near the Oriskany since the ship was sunk on May 17 to become an artificial reef.

It still was unclear Sunday which, if any agency, was investigating the incident.

"Florida Fish and Wildlife is doing the investigation," said Petty Officer Troy Smith of the U.S. Coast Guard. "We just went and picked him up."

Stan Kirkland of the Wildlife Conservation Commission said late Sunday that the Coast Guard had taken over and it was now with the Medical Examiner's Office.

Ron Beermunder of MBT Divers said he heard the diver was the owner of a store in Pensacola and that he died of a heart attack after he returned to the boat. His death had nothing to do with his dive, Beermunder said.

"He came up on the boat, and said 'I think I'm having a heart attack,' and that was it," he said. "It's a shame people want to point the finger at the Oriskany. It wasn't the Oriskany. It was (the man's) heart."

Beermunder said he knew the man within the local diving community and that he was an experienced diver.

Staff writer Angela Fail contributed to this report.

[ScubaDadMiami]

The death had nothing to do with the wreck: http://www.pensacola...NEWS03/60821013. I would now suggest another change in the post title to: "Man's Death Has Virtually Nothing To Do With Wreck Diving Or The Oriskany," and the subtitle should be "So, Have A Good Time Down There."

[6Gill]

Come on people..don't let the truth ruin a good story that sells.....

[BradfordNC]

The death had nothing to do with the wreck: http://www.pensacola...NEWS03/60821013. I would now suggest another change in the post title to: "Man's Death Has Virtually Nothing To Do With Wreck Diving Or The Oriskany," and the subtitle should be "So, Have A Good Time Down There."

gotta agree

very good idea

[Latitude Adjustment]

Since I see no mention of a dive buddy saying when the heart attack started I can assume he didn't have a buddy so some here would contend he wasn't a real diver so maybe the headline should be: Stroke has a heart attack on boat and dies!