Who died on the Conception
Mia Morrison
Published Apr 11, 2026
It’s been more than two years since a fire broke out on the Conception dive boat off the coast of Santa Barbara, killing 34 passengers and crew. For Kathi and Clark McIlvain, who lost their son Charlie in one of the worst maritime disasters in recent history, the pain is still very fresh.
Who died in the Conception boat fire?
Victims. All 33 of the Conception’s passengers and one of its six crew members were killed the night of the fire; the other five crew members, including the captain, escaped with injuries. The 34 killed were all sleeping in the lower deck bunkroom.
What caused the fire on the Conception boat?
While investigators said they couldn’t determine what caused the fire because the boat burned and sank, they say the blaze started toward the back of the main deck salon — where divers had plugged in phones, flashlights and other items with combustible lithium ion batteries.
How many people were on the Conception boat?
All 33 passengers and a crew member sleeping below deck died. Mr Boylan was among five crew members who managed to escape the blaze on the 75-ft (23m) vessel off Santa Barbara on 2 September 2019.Is Truth Aquatics still in business?
The Vision and the Truth, owned by the same company that owned the Conception, have been sold. The owner of the Conception dive boat that caught fire off the Channel Islands, killing 34 below deck, has sold the two remaining boats in the fleet amid a flurry of new lawsuits filed by the victims’ families.
Who is the captain of conception ship?
16 Jerry Boylan, captain of the Conception, a dive boat based out of Santa Barbara, plead not guilty to 34 counts of seaman’s manslaughter. The Conception caught fire on Sept. 2, 2019, during a Labor Day weekend diving trip off of Santa Cruz Island killing 33 passengers and one crew member.
Who owned the conception boat?
The owner of a scuba diving boat that burned and sank off the California coast, killing 34 people, has sold off his two remaining vessels. Glen Fritzler of Truth Aquatics Inc. sold the dive boats to Channel Islands Expeditions, which was listed as the owner as of Dec. 9, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
How many people died in the boat fire?
Prosecutors say the captain “was responsible for the safety and security of the vessel, its crew, and its passengers” at the time of the fire, but that Boylan’s misconduct, negligence and failure to “follow well-established safety rules” caused the deaths of 34 people that night.What caused the fire on the dive boat in California?
The National Transportation Safety Board has placed the blame for the dive boat fire that killed 34 people on the vessel’s owners. … But they noted that the blaze started near the back of the deck in the boat’s salon, where divers had plugged in smartphones and other devices containing lithium-ion batteries.
Who built the conception dive boat?The 41-year-old co-owner of Worldwide Diving Adventures, the Santa Cruz–based company that chartered the boat. And a 26-year-old woman who’d only recently started working for Truth Aquatics, the Santa Barbara charter boat company that owned and custom built the 75-foot-long Conception.
Article first time published onWhere is Conception Memorial?
The permanent memorial at the Conception dive boat’s home dock in Santa Barbara Harbor features the names of the 34 people killed when the 75-foot commercial diving vessel caught fire Sept. 2, 2019.
What islands are off the coast of Santa Barbara?
- ANACAPA ISLAND. The narrowest island in the chain is a fantastic kayaking destination with more than 100 sea grottos honeycombed inside its craggy, 300-foot-tall cliffs. …
- SANTA CRUZ ISLAND. …
- SANTA ROSA ISLAND. …
- SAN MIGUEL ISLAND. …
- SANTA BARBARA ISLAND.
When was the conception boat fire?
During the predawn hours of Sept. 2, 2019, a fire broke out while the boat was anchored in Platt’s Harbor near Santa Cruz Island. The fire, which engulfed the boat and led to its sinking, resulted in the deaths of the 34 people who had been sleeping below deck.
What happened Jerry Boylan?
Jerry Boylan was arraigned in federal court in Los Angeles on 34 counts of seaman’s manslaughter. Each count carries a potential 10-year prison term. Prosecutors say Boylan failed to follow safety rules before the fire broke out Sept. … He was held in lockup and appeared in court by video wearing a blue surgical mask.
What happened to the conception ship of Magellan?
After Magellan’s death, Sebastian del Cano took command of the two remaining ships, the Trinidad and the Victoria (the Conception was burned because there were not enough men left to operate it). … Only one ship of the original five — and only 18 men of the original 270 — survived the voyage.
What happened to the captain of the conception?
The captain of the Conception, the dive boat on which 34 people died during a fire in 2019, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to seaman’s manslaughter charges. … All 33 divers on board died after becoming trapped in the boat’s bunk room when the nighttime fire broke out during a trip to the Channel Islands.
Does anyone live on San Nicolas island?
The Nicoleño Native American tribe inhabited the island until 1835. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the island has since remained officially uninhabited, though the census estimates that at least 200 military and civilian personnel live on the island at any given time.
Who owns Santa Catalina Island?
To this day, descendants of William Wrigley Jr. still own the Catalina Island Company and carry on his vision to create a world-class island resort.
Does anyone live on Santa Barbara Island?
According to the 2000 census the island is uninhabited and has a total land area of 1.0136 sq mi (2.625 km2).