Diver dies at submerged wreck site in Lake Mead

[bmp51]

Our hearts go out to Michael's Family....

from: "Diver dies at submerged wreck site in Lake Mead" by Vegas News - Las Vegas Sun

Diver dies at submerged wreck site in Lake Mead
By Mary Manning · February 11, 2008 · 12:27 PM


The National Park Service is investigating the death of 40-year-old Michael Lawrence Anderson of Las Vegas,, who died on a dive to the wreckage of a Navy PBY Catalina flying boat that crashed into Lake Mead in 1949.



At 1:52 p.m. Sunday the National Park Service emergency dispatch center received a 911 call and rangers arrived at Boulder Basin by 2:09 p.m.



Park rangers performed CPR on the diver for about 45 minutes. Mercy Air ambulance also responded, but the victim was pronounced dead at 3 p.m.



Anderson was diving with three other Las Vegas men when he apparently had a problem with his air supply. Assistant park superintendent Gary Warshefski said the divers were working about 150 feet beneath Lake Mead’s surface at the time of the accident.



“Divers need special gases when it is so deep,” Warshefski said, noting that regular scuba gear is used to a depth of 100 feet.



The Catalina flying boat crashed into Lake Mead on Oct. 24, 1949. The aircraft, converted for civilian use by the Charles Babb Company of Los Angeles, took off from Boulder City Airport for a test flight and attempted a water landing in the Boulder Basin area of Lake Mead. But the landing gear was still down, causing the plane to flip and catch fire.



Four of the five men on board died. Pilot Russell Rogers and mechanic Charmen Correa, both from Southern California, went down with the wreckage. Fellow Californian Clarence Masters and Boulder City Airport Operator Ted Swift were thrown clear of the plane but never regained consciousness.


George Davis, the only member of the group strapped to his seat, survived with a broken leg, cuts and bruises.



The Patrol Bomber, built for the U.S. Navy in the 1930s and 1940s, was used in World War II. The aircraft that went down at Lake Mead is is two pieces, resting at a depth of 190 feet below the surface.

[cgvmer]

Condolences to the diver's family and friends..


As for the details of the report " Divers need special gases when it is so deep,” Warshefski said, noting that regular scuba gear is used to a depth of 100 feet." obvious inaccuracy of an untrained diver

[CompuDude]

Media seldom gets little details like that, although at least they didn't say "he ran out of oxygen" like most reporters do.

Shame about the accident, though. It will be interesting to see the end analysis of what went wrong and what we can learn from it.

[bmp51]

As soon as I know I will post...

Originally Posted by CompuDude

Media seldom gets little details like that, although at least they didn't say "he ran out of oxygen" like most reporters do.

Shame about the accident, though. It will be interesting to see the end analysis of what went wrong and what we can learn from it.

[RoyN]

[Chad]

Very sad. Condolences to the family.

[PlatypusMan]

I too feel for the family.

For those who are newer divers reading this, BTW; understand that the reason we as a community mourn other divers in passing is that there are so few deaths in our sport in relation to the total number of people who participate in it. It's one of the reasons that such incidents make the news--because it's not commonplace enough to have people simply shrug their shoulders and move on with their lives.

I'm interested in knowing if he was diving Nitrox.

[Chad]

I would hope not at that depth. He would have needed some He in the mix. Or he could have been on air which would have also been a bad idea.

[Chad]

Also, Lake Mead is considered an altitude dive at 1140' above sea level.

[ianr33]

Originally Posted by Chad

Also, Lake Mead is considered an altitude dive at 1140' above sea level.

That only reduces the NDL's/increases Deco Times. You can actually dive nitrox a little deeper at altitude than at sea level.

Anybody know if he was using technical gear i.e. doubles? "A problem with his air supply" really does not mean anything.