Last update: February 18, 2007
Copyright © 1998, 2005 National Speleological Society
All Rights Reserved
Do not reproduce in any form, electronic or otherwise, without permission.
The current file of reports for 1998 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.
Incidents listed in red italics were not published in the 1996-1998 issue of ACA and will appear in the 1999 issue under "Previously Unreported Incidents."
1998 Incidents |
||||
| Date | Cave | Location | Result | Incident Type |
| 15 January | Cueva de Horror | Mexico | no consequence | bad air |
| 24 January | Saltpeter Cave | Kentucky | fatality | heart attack in cave |
| 31 January | Tom Pack Cave | Tennessee | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 14 February | My Cave | West Virginia | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 16 February | Small Wonder Cave | New York | no consequence | bear encounter in cave |
| 28 February | Skagnasty Cave | Tennessee | aid, no injury | illness |
| 14 March | Clarksville Cave | New York | injury and aid | rockfall |
| 11 April | unnamed cave | Indiana | injury and aid | caver fall, inadequate equipment |
| 25 April | Hanors Cave | New York | aid, no injury | stranded, difficulty on rope |
| 26 April | Hidden River Cave | Kentucky | aid, no injury | illnes, passed out in cave |
| 3 May | Colisimo Cave | Pennsylvania | injury, no aid | rabies exposure from bat contact |
| 19 May | Morris Cave | Vermont | no consequence | entrapment |
| 23 May | Cumberland Caverns | Tennessee | aid, no injury | illness |
| 25 May | Cave Hill Cave | Illinois | aid, no injury | lost, stranded, inadequate equipment |
| May | Hughes Cave | Alabama | aid, no injury | lost |
| 13 June | Bowden Cave | West Virginia | no consequence | flooding, brief entrapment |
| 11 July | Bartons Cave | Pennsylvania | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 18 July | Keyhole Cave | New York | injury and aid | stuck in crevice |
| 18 July | Moaning Cavern | California | injury and aid | lost control of rappel |
| 23 July | Dislocation Cave | Alaska | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 26 July | Blue Spring Cave | Tennessee | no consequence | caver fall |
| 2 August | Big Four Ice Caves | Washington | fatality | ice fall |
| 8 August | Surprise Cave | New York | no consequence | entrapment, key broke off in lock |
| 11 August | Coons Cave | Indiana | aid, no injury | Stranded in pit, inadequate equipment |
| 5 September | Sharps Cave | West Virginia | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 3 October | Cassell Cave | West Virginia | aid, no injury | stranded, inadequate equipment |
| 3 October | J-4 Cave | Pennsylvania | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 12 October | Bowden Cave | West Virginia | aid, no injury | lost |
| 13 October | Neversink | Alabama | no consequence | tree fell into pit while cavers on rope |
| 13 October | unnamed sinkhole | Florida | aid, no injury | stranded, fell in sinkhole |
| 19 October | Tongue River Cave | Wyoming | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 24 October | Pinnacles Cave | Nevada | aid, no injury | stranded on ladder, inexperience |
| 25 October | Whitings Neck Cave | West Virginia | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 28 October | Spring Hill Saltpeter Cave | Tennessee | fatality | caver fall, inadequate equipment |
| 30 October | J-4 Cave | Pennsylvania | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 31 October | Pyeatts Cave | Arizona | aid, no injury | illness, exhaustion |
| October | Gabinarraca Cave | Costa Rica | injury, no aid | illness, histoplasmosis |
| 5 November | 3-D Maze Cave | Virginia | injury and aid | caver fall |
| 21 November | Cumberland Caverns | Tennessee | fatality | illness, heart attack in cave |
| 23 November | Torpedo Tube Cave | New York | no consequence | animal trap in cave entrance |
| 28 December | Peppersauce Cave | Arizona | injury and aid | caver fall |
Cave Diving Accidents and Incidents |
||||
1998 Diving Incidents |
||||
| Date | Cave | Location | Result | Incident Type |
| 12 December | Wakulla Springs | Florida | injury, aid | decompression sickness |
Caving-Related Outside Incidents |
||||
1998 Outside Incidents |
||||
| Date | Cave | Location | Result | Incident Type |
| 27 June | Windy Mouth Cave | West Virginia | fatality | drowned while hiking back from cave |
| February | unspecified cave | Pennsylvania | no consequence | body found in cave |
| 3 March | unnamed sea cave | California | fatality | swept into sea cave and drowned |
| 17 March | unspecified cave | Tennessee | no consequence | body found in cave |
| 22 August | unspecified cave | Tennessee | injury and aid | fell off ATV riding back from cave |
| 13 October | unspecified cave | Vermont | no consequence | body found in cave |
Copyright © 1998, 2005 National Speleological Society
All Rights Reserved
Do not reproduce in any form, electronic or otherwise, without permission.