The Byford Dolphin Accident — Death in 9 Atmospheres — The Sinister Past
North Sea, November 1983. A catastrophic failure in a diving bell's pressure chamber causes an explosive decompression from 9 atmospheres to 1 in a fraction of a second. Four divers and one tender die instantly. The physics of what happened to their bodies is difficult to describe and impossible to forget.
In this episode, we trace the mechanical failure behind the Byford Dolphin accident, the missing safety interlock that made it possible, and the 26-year fight the victims' families waged just to be acknowledged — a case still taught in safety engineering courses worldwide.
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