| Name | Age | Sex | Injuries | Injured areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zepp, Brett | 37 | Male | Death | Not recorded |
On August 18, 1984 two scuba-equipped cavers began a dive in a sump about 175 feet from the entrance of Flying H Cave in southeast Arizona. A line was in place and both were keeping a hand on it. After three and a half minutes the leader felt violent tugs from Brett Zepp (37), the second diver. He moved to Zepp quickly and found him thrashing wildly about against the roof of the small chamber, mouthpiece out. The other diver offered to buddy-breathe but Zepp was in the throes of panic or a seizure and refused to cooperate. He soon went limp, however, and was quickly hauled back to the surface (about three minutes). He was apparently dead and attempts at resuscitation had no effect. Later CPR had no effect.
This was labeled a drowning by the coroner but Zepp was diabetic and he may have been suffering some sort of physiological crisis. His scuba equipment was found to be functioning normally. Day suggests he may have aspirated vomit.
A diabetic caver drowned during a cave dive, potentially due to a physiological crisis, panic, seizure, or aspiration of vomit.