Diving is generally a safe sport but when things go wrong, they can go terribly wrong – and quickly. Join Capt John Kades, Karl Huggins and Ken Kurtis as they look at actual dive fatalities that happened within Los Angeles County in 2025, and discuss the circumstances that contributed to the accidents, on the Inspiration Stage at the Long Beach Scuba Show on 30-31 May.
This seminar, which runs around 90 minutes, is presented by Los Angeles County Medical-Examiner/Coroner Capt John Kades, USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber Director Karl Huggins, and Forensic Consultant Ken Kurtis (NAUI Instructor and Reef Seekers Dive Co. owner).
Kades presents the circumstances of the case, Huggins details what the Chamber did (or didn’t do), Kurtis gives an instructional/lessons-learned perspective, and then Kades gives the official cause-of-death.
Audience Q&A follows each case. Depending on time available, some older cases might be updated as well. This is usually one of the best-attended seminars at the Scuba Show and the information and perspectives presented are something every diver can use to make their next dive a safer one.
Captain John Kades has been an investigator for the Los Angeles County Dept. of Medical Examiner since October 2000. He has been a member of the department’s Special Operations Response Team (SORT) and specializes in disaster operations, aircraft fatalities, drowning/SCUBA cases, and skeletal/buried body cases.
He is currently one of the managers of the investigations division that includes 10 lieutenants, 53 investigators, and approximately 40 forensic support staff. He also oversees the department’s Notifications Section, searching for and notifying the legal next of kin of the deceased, as well as manages the Identifications Section that works on identifying John and Jane Doe cases. Capt. Kades oversees the department’s Indigent Veteran Burial Program, providing a dignified disposition for approximately 200 American heroes annually.
He’s conducted internal affairs investigations for the department and is one of the designated liaisons for the Los Angeles County Funeral Directors Association. He provides a POST-certified drowning investigation course at the Orange County Coroner’s Office several times a year.
John’s been a certified diver since 1981 and spent 14 years as a public safety diver for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Underwater Search and Recovery Team. He has a BA in criminal justice from UC Santa Barbara.
Karl Huggins has served as Director of the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber Facility at the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center since 1992, overseeing the treatment of hundreds of injured divers during his tenure. He began diving in 1977 and has been a NAUI Instructor since 1980.
Karl is internationally recognized for his work in decompression theory and modeling. His research contributed to the development of the Michigan Sea Grant (HUGI) decompression tables and to the development of the EDGE dive computer. He is particularly known for helping divers better understand the limitations and assumptions behind dive tables and dive computer algorithms, promoting informed and conservative dive practices.
A sought-after speaker, Karl has delivered hundreds of lectures, seminars, and workshops worldwide on decompression theory, dive computer performance, and diving safety. He is the author of The Dynamics of Decompression Workbook and has contributed to Dive Computers: A Consumer’s Guide to History, Theory, and Performance and Women and Pressure – Diving and Altitude.
In 2011, he co-moderated the Validation of Dive Computers Workshop at the annual meeting of the European Underwater and Baromedical Society in Gdańsk, Poland.
Karl’s honors include the 1990 Leonard Greenstone Diving Safety Award, the 1993 DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year Award, the 2004 Conrad Limbaugh Memorial Award for Scientific Diving Leadership, the 2008 California Scuba Service Award, and the 2024 LA County UICC Golden Snorkel Award.
Ken Kurtis was kicked out of swim class twice by the time he was six (He didn’t like putting his face in the water). Hardly an auspicious start to a diving career. But Ken always loved being around the water, loved looking at fish, and in 1978, while running a radio station in Richmond, VA, was offered a chance to get certified and took advantage of it.
Ken then became a NAUI Instructor (Top Candidate at his 1980 ITC) and has taught thousands of people over the years. Ken is the sole owner of Reef Seekers Dive Co. in Beverly Hills, CA. He doesn’t teach as much as he used to when the brick-and-mortar store was open, but still likes teaching Fish Identification and a few others.
He’s logged over 6,000 dives all over the world in such varied places as the Maldives, Indonesia, Yap, Tahiti, Bonaire, Cocos, Alaska, Easter Island and, of course, his beloved waters of Southern California.
He speaks frequently to dive clubs about diving safety issues. Ken’s been chairman of Chamber Day/Eve since the early 90s, served as a member of the Statewide Interests Group for the MLPA (Marine Life Protection Act), and is a volunteer Dive Team Leader at the Aquarium of the Pacific.
Ken’s an accomplished photographer and his photos and stories can be found in the pages of the California Diving News, Sport Diver, Skin Diver, Undercurrent and other scuba publications, along with the monthly Reef Seekers newsletter.
Since 2003, Ken has been a Forensic Consultant to the L.A. County Coroner for scuba fatalities, doing accident analysis. With all that he still finds time to maintain an acting career and leads all of the local and foreign trips for Reef Seekers. Be sure to ask him his mantra about divers. He also claims to hold the Reef Seekers deep diving record of 3,500ft… but we have to add the caveat that he did it in the Alvin submersible for a PBS special so that might be cheating.
Long Beach Scuba Show
The Long Beach Scuba Show, this year sponsored by Divers Alert Network, is celebrating its 39th anniversary in 2026 (30-31 May), and it represents the first show under the banner of new owners Rork Media Limited, which also runs the GO Diving Shows in the UK and Australia, and publishes the global-multi-edition Scuba Diver magazine, as well as being behind the Scuba Diver Magazine YouTube Channel, and long-established website Divernet.
Fans of the long-running event will be delighted to hear that Rork Media plan to retain everything that made the Scuba Show such a staple on the West Coast diving circuit, and enhance it with new and improved elements, including a Main Stage with a huge video wall right in the exhibition hall itself, a new layout designed to stimulate exploration around the hundreds of booths, and additional interactive attractions including a VR dive on a deep-water shipwreck in the Baltic Sea.
The three seminar rooms have been organised into themes, to make it easier to find speakers/topics of interest, so prepare to dive into Adventure, Inspiration, and UW Imaging.
Whether you’re an experienced diver, a new enthusiast, or just curious about the underwater world, the Scuba Show brings together everything you love about diving under one roof.
Greg Holt from Scuba Radio will be entertaining the crowds on mornings before and as the show opens, offering plenty of fun and games, and the chance to win some amazing prizes.
Explore hundreds of exhibitors showcasing the latest scuba gear, dive destinations, underwater photography equipment, training programs, and ocean conservation initiatives. Attend inspiring seminars led by world-renowned dive experts, explorers, and photographers, and connect with dive professionals, travel operators, and fellow divers from across the country.
There is also the opportunity to expand your skillset. The PSI-PCI Visual Cylinder Inspection course is open to everyone who wishes to inspect high-pressure breathing gas cylinders, or just know about the process. These specialty courses support the inspection process with formal function specific training on valve maintenance and repair, and Oxygen Cylinder Cleaning. Inspectors who are at the three-year renewal mark and want to attend the PSI-PCI Update course will be able to take care of it at the Scuba Show as well.
PSI-PCI offers the only training that is formally endorsed, utilized, and referred to by the cylinder manufacturers. The training has been created with the input of industry professionals and experts in each field to provide you with the best training available to meet the Federal requirements for the associated processes. You can join the team of PSI-PCI Professionals at the Scuba Show. Don’t wait, seats will fill up quickly! Click here for more information and to book a slot.
The Scuba Show offers two full days of ocean adventure, hand’s-on experiences, and exclusive show specials, and is where the US dive community comes together to celebrate the underwater world.
Get your tickets now!
Tickets are on sale now for the Scuba Show, and new for 2026, there is a change to the cost of entry – there is now one ticket price, which gets every attendee full access to the Exhibition Hall, and entry to all seminars.
With many of the speakers in the dedicated Adventure, Inspiration, and UW Imaging seminar rooms either only presenting on one of the days, or giving two different talks, plus with the headline acts on the Main Stage, and the plethora of booths, interactive elements and much more, there is plenty to keep you occupied on both days, so why not make a weekend of it?
Tickets are available now – click here – priced at $33 for a day ticket, and $60 for a weekend pass. There is also the option of a VIP Pass, which includes a weekend pass plus 6 issues of Scuba Diver magazine and 6 issues of California Diving News (Magazine delivery US & Canada residents only), and a Scuba Show Dive Team T-shirt, for $100.
Under 16s go free – bring the family and let the kids dive into the fun as well.
Join us for two incredible days, 30-31 May 2026, celebrating the world of diving at the Long Beach Convention Center!
