Abstract: At approximately 1:07 p.m. on October 20, 1988, Employees #1 and #2 were using screw drivers and wrenches to remove cables and electronic gear from buoy 6N03. Employee #1 was standing on the deck of the buoy at the rear. Employee #2 was removing cables from compartment #2, which is 4 ft by 7 ft deep at the front of the buoy. A hydrogen explosion threw Employee #1 from the deck of the buoy into the air and onto the shop floor. Employee #1 was dead at the scene. Employee #2 suffered burns to his face, left arm, and chest as he escaped from compartment #2. No testing of the atmosphere had been conducted prior to the employees starting work in the buoy compartments.