But within seconds, its trajectory would bring it directly into the metal barrier separating the diver from the ocean.
Chapter 3: A Diver Watching From Behind the Bars
Before the collision, the expedition was operating in a setting familiar to people who had participated in organized shark-diving trips.
The boat remained above the observation area while a diver occupied the submerged cage.
The ocean surrounded the metal enclosure on all sides.
From inside, the diver could observe sharks moving through the water while remaining separated from them by the cage's framework.
The experience depended on several conditions working together.
The cage needed to maintain its structural integrity.
The diver needed sufficient space to move within the enclosure.
The crew needed to monitor activity around the cage.
And the sharks needed to remain outside the protective barrier.
The use of bait introduced another element.
Tuna attracted the attention of nearby sharks, encouraging them to approach the viewing area.
For observers, this created opportunities to see the animals at close range.
For the sharks, the bait was a potential food source.
The distinction is important because the animals were not participating in a controlled performance.
They were wild predators responding to stimuli in their environment.
Their movements could not be directed with the precision of machinery.
A shark approaching food might turn suddenly, accelerate, or make contact with an object in its path.
Great white sharks also possess a characteristic that would later become central to explanations of the accident.
They cannot swim backward.
When a shark moves into a confined space, it cannot simply reverse its direction the way a person might step backward through a doorway.
Its movement depends on forward swimming, turning, and changes in body position.
That limitation can become especially significant when an animal enters an enclosure too narrow to turn around comfortably.
On October 4, the diver was inside the cage when a shark approached the bait.
The precise thoughts of the diver at that moment are not established by the video.
What is clear is that the animal's approach changed the situation almost immediately.
The shark moved toward the food.
The cage stood in its path.
And the collision that followed overwhelmed part of the protective structure.
Chapter 4: The Shark Strikes the Cage
The great white shark accelerated toward the tuna bait positioned near the diving cage.
As it approached the food, the animal opened its jaws.
Then its body struck the metal framework.