How does someone run out of air???

[Eric Sedletzky]

This is kind of a silly basic question, but one I wonder about.
All this talk in many threads about OOA situations get's me wondering what the hell people are doing that there are that many people running out of air.
What are people looking at?
I don't understand, people in these OOA situations, don't they look at their gauge?
I fail to see how an OOA can happen with the excellent training provided by all the agencies.
Maybe more people are diving drunk or stoned or hungover and suffer a brain fart?
Or maybe the batteries run out on an air integrated computer half way throught the dive? Or maybe an analog gauge sticks at a certain point and fools the diver. If this is the case you'd think they would be keeping track of the time and depth and realize that you can only stay down so long at a certain depth with a given gas supply.
Maybe a freeflow? but then going OOA would be no surprise; you'd have plenty of warning.
If any pressure guages, either analog or digital go out you'd think that would be the end of the dive and not continuing it until they suck the tank dry.

So, I don't really see how there could be an excuse. Maybe somebody can add something to explain how this many people are running OOA.

 

[Garrobo]

Usually by staying down too long.

 

[fnfalman]

People forget to look at gauges. Some new divers (like myself) become obssessed with the gauges, and some are too overwhelmed with the sheer beauty of it all and just kept on going until they ran out of air. Some experienced divers should know better but push their bottom times and don't have enough air to do a long safety/deco stop. Gauges can fail and give false readings showing too much air remaining.

 

[diver 85]

A pinhole leak in the tank somewhere??

 

[Gombessa]

I've witnessed a few OOAs in resort locations. At least for newer divers, my guess is it's probably a mixture of not being entirely familiar with how much air they have in the first place, not making the connection that their gas depletes more rapidly at depth, being distracted/task loaded, and following the DM around (perhaps feeling self-conscious about their breathing rate and being too embarrassed to be the one to turn the dive).

 

[Queen]

Failure to monitor gauges. Faulty gauges. Inexperience.

 

[wreckchick]

Failure to monitor gauges almost exclusively, in my experience.

Rachel

 

[ScubaSteve]

The little LCD screen on the back of their camera is another thing they may be looking at that can be very distracting if not careful.

 

[Cave Diver]

For the same reason people run out of gas while driving their car.

"I can go just a little more before I need to top up..."

 

[mania]

failure in planning the dive is the most common cause. Or even more - simply lack of any plan.

Not monitoring gauges is just a result of lack of the planning - I think.