Brief Diving Experience Summary
Capt. Michael R. Ange, Ph.D.
When a diving or maritime case turns on what should have happened — what a competent instructor would have taught, what properly functioning equipment should have done, what an experienced diver would have known — the expert witness must have actually lived those standards, not just studied them.
Capt. Ange holds active Instructor Trainer certifications through SDI, TDI, and ERDI — the same agencies whose standards govern the majority of recreational and public safety diving litigation in the United States. He has held Instructor Trainer credentials across nine international agencies. He wrote the public safety diving standards now used by agencies worldwide. He contributed to NFPA 1009 and NFPA 1670 — the federal standards cited in virtually every public safety diving case. He served as founding International Training Director of ERDI, as Global Training Director for SSI’s Technical Division, and on the international training advisory boards of TDI and SDI.
He holds a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine Master License. He is equipment technician certified on Kirby Morgan commercial surface supplied systems and major recreational and technical equipment manufacturers. He has logged over 6,000 dives across four continents including cave diving at Eagles Nest — widely recognized as one of the most demanding cave diving sites in the world — multiple historic wreck expeditions including the USS Monitor and USNS Vandenberg, and international operational diving across four continents and the South Pacific.
He has been an active expert witness in diving and maritime litigation for nearly three decades. He has testified in cases from Massachusetts to California and internationally. He has never had a certification revoked, suspended, or denied.
When opposing counsel asks what qualifies him to render an opinion — this page is the short answer. The full answer is available upon request.
A complete and extensive diving certification resume is available to retained counsel and qualified inquirers upon request.