The sinking of the Destination hit the Deadliest Catch captains hard

A number of vessels have been lost to disaster during the filming of “Deadliest Catch,” including the Big Valley, the Galaxy, the Ocean Challenger, and the Destination. Perhaps most poignant of these is the sinking of the Destination because, according to a recent Coast Guard investigation, it was preventable. The ship’s capsizing was detailed in the 105th episode of the show, titled “The Mystery of the FV Destination.” The Coast Guard found that the Destination, which sank off the coast of St. George Island in February 2017, was weighed down with roughly 330,000 pounds of ice. The disaster plunged several of the show’s stars, including Sig Hansen (pictured hearing the news) and Jake Anderson, into mourning.

The ship’s crew was apparently under a great deal of pressure, having delayed their crabbing efforts to finish up fishing for cod. Had the Destination’s captain, Jeff Hathaway, opted to stop onshore and break up some of the ice that had formed in the crab pots, its six-member crew might have been saved.

The crew of the vessels featured on “Deadliest Catch” have obviously gotten the most attention, but the behind-the-scenes staff on the show have likewise garnered a few headlines.

In September 2016, a 22-year-old production manager, Matthew J. Schneider, was charged with using and selling cocaine. He was caught in a large undercover sting launched by Unalaska police. Schneider, who, following the charge, fled to California, can be heard on police recordings saying that his supervisor sometimes purchased large amounts of cocaine from the Golden State to distribute at “Deadliest Catch” soirees, many of which took place in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The investigation has not, to date, roped in any other members of the show’s staff.

By far the sadder case is the story of Joe McMahon, a 25-year-old producer who was shot and killed in front of his parents’ house in Pasadena, California, in the early hours of July 24, 2015. Neighbors reported hearing shots being fired and a car speeding away. McMahon’s body was found one driveway away from where he lived, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. And then, in a twist worthy of “Murder, She Wrote,” police found Brandon Rafiepour, 24, in a car not far from McMahon’s home, dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police believe Rafiepour, who knew McMahon, was the killer, but a motive in the shooting is yet to be disclosed.

The “Deadliest Catch” community is no stranger to sudden death. In 2010, Captain Phil Harris succumbed to complications from a stroke captured on camera in Season 6. Then, in 2011, just a year after Harris’ passing, Time Bandit deckhand Justin Tennison (left) passed away at the age of 33 in an Alaskan hotel.