Last update: February 18, 2007
Copyright © 1997, 2005 National Speleological Society
All Rights Reserved
Do not reproduce in any form, electronic or otherwise, without permission.
The current file of reports for 1996 includes the incidents listed below. These reports were published in the most recent issue of American Caving Accidents in April 2000. If you have information about an incident which is not listed here, please contact the ACA Editor, Bill Putnam, at putnam@scci.org or use the online accident report form to report it.
1996 Incidents |
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| Date | Cave | Location | Result | Incident Type |
| Winter 1996 | Ellisons Cave | Georgia | no consequence | caver fall, lost control of rappel |
| 5 January | Log Cave | Alabama | no consequence | difficulty on rope, flooding |
| 11 February | Weatherly Well | Tennessee | aid, no injury | stuck in tight entrance |
| 17 February | Langdons Cave | Indiana | injury and aid | caver fall, inadequate equipment |
| 22 February | Fisher Ridge Cave | Kentucky | no consequence | flood entrapment |
| 26 February | Flower Pot Cave | West Virginia | injury and aid | caver fall, descending hand-over-hand |
| February | Neversink Pit | Alabama | aid, no injury | difficulty on rope, stuck at lip on ascent |
| February | Thunder Canyon Cave | California | aid, no injury | stranded on traverse, exhaustion |
| 17 March | Sycamore Cave | Alabama | injury and aid | caver fall, descending hand-over-hand |
| 21 March | Fault Cave | Colorado | aid, no injury | stuck |
| 24 March | Buckners Cave | Indiana | aid, no injury | flood entrapment |
| 7 April | Doghill/Donnehue Cave | Indiana | aid, no injury | stranded, exhaustion |
| 7 April | unnamed pit | Guatemala | injury, no aid | caver fall |
| 27 April | Buckners Cave | Indiana | injury and aid | caver fall, intoxication |
| 20 May | Midnight Creek Cave | California | aid, no injury | caver fall, trapped under water |
| 29 May | Great Cavern | Idaho | injury and aid | caver fall, inadequate equipment |
| May | Cave Mountain Cave | Arkansas | aid, no injury | lost, stranded, inadequate equipment |
| May | Samwell Cave | California | aid, no injury | stranded, descended pit hand-over-hand |
| 1 June | Lick Creek Cave | Montana | aid, no injury | lost, stranded, inadequate equipment |
| 2 June | Small Cave | Alabama | no consequence | difficulty on rope, equipment problem |
| 15 June | Belle Cave | Arkansas | injury, no aid | rockfall |
| 27 June | Bowden Cave | West Virginia | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 29 June | Barrack Zourie Cave | New York | no consequence | bad air |
| June | Bighorn Cave | Wyoming | aid, no injury | difficulty on rope, stranded, exhaustion |
| 4 July | Laurel Caverns | Pennsylvania | injury and aid | struck head, suspected neck injury |
| 6 July | Lechuguilla Cave | New Mexico | aid, no injury | caver fall, lost control on rappel |
| 6 July | unnamed boulder cave | California | fatality | stranded, inadequate equipment |
| 7 July | Lockridge Aqua Cave | Virginia | injury, no aid | caver fall |
| 13 July | Goochland Cave | Kentucky | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 14 July | Small Cave | Alabama | injury, no aid | acetylene hazard, chemical burn |
| 26 July | Big Four Ice Caves | Washington | injury, no aid | ice fall |
| 27 July | Lechuguilla Cave | New Mexico | aid, no injury | exhaustion, stranded on rope in pit |
| 3 August | McFails Cave | New York | no consequence | flood entrapment |
| 17 August | Hero Bucket Horror Hole | Tennessee | injury, no aid | rockfall entrapment |
| 23 August | Moores Bridge Cave | Tennessee | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 28 August | Ice Cave (first incident) | Wyoming | aid, no injury | stranded, inadequate equipment |
| 28 August | South Pittsburg Pit | Tennessee | injury, no aid | caver fall, lost control on rappel |
| 28 August | Wind-Ice Cave | Wyoming | aid, no injury | stranded in pit, inadequate equipment |
| 14 September | Reeves Cave | Indiana | aid, no injury | lost, inadequate equipment |
| 14 September | Trent Chasm | Alabama | no consequence | equipment problem |
| 19 October | Cave Mountain Cave | Virginia | injury, no aid | abrasion resulting in staph infection |
| 25 October | Laurel Caverns | Pennsylvania | injury and aid | struck head |
| 26 October | Pendleton Saltpeter Cave | West Virginia | no consequence | rockfall entrapment |
| 28 October | Hughes Cave | Alabama | injury and aid | caver fall, inadequate equipment |
| 2 November | Pine Hill Cave | Kentucky | injury, no aid | caver fall |
| 2 November | Waynes Cave | Indiana | aid, no injury | lost |
| 9 November | Rogers Discovery Cave | Kentucky | injury and aid | caver fall, inadequate equipment |
| 17 November | Whitings Neck Cave | West Virginia | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 29 November | Carpenter-Swago Cave | West Virginia | no consequence | difficulty on rope, inadequate equipment |
| 30 November | Fisher Ridge Cave | Kentucky | no consequence | flood entrapment (second this year) |
| 14 December | Jewel Cave | South Dakota | aid, no injury | illness, forced bivouac in cave |
| 24 December | Blowing Springs Cave | North Carolina | injury and aid | caver fall, inadequate equipment |
| 28 December | Cave Without A Name | Texas | injury and aid | caver fall, stranded, inadequate equipment |
| unknown 1996 | Susie Drop | Alabama | no consequence | difficulty on rope, equipment problem |
Cave Diving Accidents and Incidents |
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1996 Diving Incidents |
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| Date | Cave | Location | Result | Incident Type |
| 22 September | Paradise Springs | Florida | fatality | silted out, no guideline |
| 30 December | unnamed sea cave near Santa Cruz | California | fatality | drowned, cause unknown |
Caving-Related Outside Incidents |
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1996 Outside Incidents |
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| Date | Cave | Location | Result | Incident Type |
| 29 December | unnamed mine shaft | New Jersey | aid, no injury | stranded, inadequate equipment |
Copyright © 1997, 2005 National Speleological Society
All Rights Reserved
Do not reproduce in any form, electronic or otherwise, without permission.