Last update: February 18, 2007
Copyright © 2002, 2005 National Speleological Society
All Rights Reserved
Do not reproduce in any form, electronic or otherwise, without permission.
The current file of reports for 2002 includes the incidents listed below. In some cases the reports are incomplete. If you have information about such incidents or about an incident which is not listed here, please contact the ACA Editor at aca@caves.org or use the online accident report form to report it.
Incidents listed in red are those for which the file is incomplete. The standard information required for an ACA incident summary is listed in the style guide.
2002 Incidents |
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| Date | Cave | Location | Result | Incident Type |
| January | Kennamer Cave | Alabama | no consequence | illness, lost consciousness |
| February 25 | Connies Cave | California | aid, no injury | stranded in pit, inadequate equipment |
| February 27 | Three Falls Cave | New York | injury and aid | rockfall entrapment |
| February | Sotano de las Golondrinas | SLP, Mexico | injury and aid | caver fall, BASE jumping |
| March 17 | Bowden Cave | West Virginia | injury and aid | caver fall, hypothermia |
| March 20 | Ten Mile Pit | Tennessee | injury and aid | caver fall, climbing without belay |
| March 30 | Kaumana Cave | Hawaii | injury and aid | caver fall |
| April 7 | Bowden Cave | West Virginia | aid, no injury | lost, stranded, inadequate equipment |
| April 18 | Hell Below Cave | New Mexico | no consequence | equipment problem, maillon opened |
| April 19 | Carpenter-Swago Cave | West Virginia | injury, no aid | caver fall. climbing without belay |
| April 20 | Cassell Cave | West Virginia | injury, no aid | caver fall. climbing without belay |
| May 10 | Crystal Ice Cave | Idaho | no consequence | trapped, stranded |
| May 12 | Trout Cave | West Virginia | aid, no injury | illness, heart attack |
| May 16 | Yo-yo Pit | New Mexico | fatality | caver fall, inadequate equipment |
| May 27 | Fault Cave | Colorado | injury, no aid | caver fall, inadequate equipment, inexperience (geocacher) |
| June 2 | Tongue River Cave | Wyoming | aid, no injury | rockfall entrapment |
| June 9 | Pozo de Gavilan | Nuevo Leon, Mexico | injury and aid | difficulty on rope, killer bee attack |
| July 6 | Dynamited Cave | Washington | injury and aid | caver fall, climbing ladder w/o belay |
| July 9 | Langdons Cave | Indiana | injury and aid | caver fall |
| July | Morris Cave | Vermont | injury, no aid | caver fall |
| August 10 | Martin Cave | Arkansas | injury and aid | caver fall, inadequate equipment |
| August 11 | Cave Mountain Cave | Arkansas | injury and aid | caver fall, inadequate equipment |
| August 17 | Cemetery Pit | Georgia | aid, no injury | stranded, difficulty on rope |
| August 25 | Casparis Cave | Pennsylvania | aid, no injury | stranded, inadequate equipment |
| September 11 | unnamed lava tube | Hawaii | injury and aid | caver fall, fell into hidden pit entrance |
| September 16 | Sotano de Cepillio | SLP, Mexico | no consequence | equipment problem, maillon opened |
| September 21 | Cassell Cave | West Virginia | injury and aid | caver fall, difficulty on rope |
| September 28 | Howards Waterfall Cave | Georgia | injury and aid | caver fall |
| October 1 | Maxwelton Sink Cave | West Virginia | injury and aid | rockfall entrapment |
| October 6 | Buddha Cave | Indiana | injury and aid | caver fall, climbing without belay |
| October 12 | War Eagle Cave | Alabama | no consequence | stranded, difficulty on rope |
| November 15 | Tower Cave | Colorado | injury, no aid | caver fall, inadequate equipment, inexperience (geocacher) |
| November | Lechuguilla Cave | New Mexico | injury, no aid | caver fall |
| December 14 | Coon Cave | West Virginia | no consequence | stranded, difficulty on rope |
| December 24 | Bloomington Cave | Utah | fatality | caver fall |
Cave Diving Accidents and Incidents |
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2002 Diving Incidents |
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| Date | Cave | Location | Result | Incident Type |
| February 16 | Little River Spring | Florida | fatality | seizure, cause unknown |
| March 9 | Devils Ear Spring | Florida | fatality | lost consciousness, cause unknown |
| June 15 | Bat Colon Cave | Florida | aid, no injury | siltation, lost guideline, stranded |
| November 8 | Orange Grove Sink | Florida | fatality | lost consciousness, heart attack |
Caving-Related Incidents |
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2002 Caving-related Incidents |
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| Date | Cave | Location | Result | Incident Type |
| February 25 | State Trooper Cave | Kentucky | aid, no injury | road collapsed into sinkhole |
| February 26 | Cove Mine, Pickens County | Georgia | fatality | drowned while diving in abandoned mine |
| April 4 | unspecified cave near Hannibal | Missouri | no consequence | body found in cave |
| April 7 | Sinks of Roundstone | Kentucky | injury and aid | caver fall outside cave |
| April 8 | Abandoned lead mine | Arkansas | aid, no injury | rockfall entrapment |
| June 23 | Blue Light Mine | California | two fatalities | drowned trying to free-dive sumped passage |
| June 30 | Halona Blowhole | Hawaii | fatality | fell into blowhole and drowned |
| July 17 | unnamed sand cave at South Carlsbad State Beach | California | fatality | passage collapsed |
| August 18 | unspecified cave near Athens | Alabama | no consequence | body found in cave |
Copyright © 2002, 2005 National Speleological Society
All Rights Reserved
Do not reproduce in any form, electronic or otherwise, without permission.