Teen fatality - Skaneateles Lake, New York

[Beiji]

I'm well familiar with the St. Lawrence. Those statements are heading toward this being a "trust me" dive....

I don't think we can make that leap with the information that's available.

 

[flots am]

but what is your perspective of the lake if we take away 190-490 of your dives?

The lake slopes from 0' at shore (obviously) to close to 400' in spots. You do have to stay off the bottom because it's covered in a layer of silt deposited over the last 10 million years, and is very easy to kick up.

If you want a 15' dive, stay near shore. If you want deeper, head out towards the middle. It's mostly a gradual slope with a few walls that have nice vertical drops of +/-20' depending on the location. The bottom is wherever you want it to be. A direct ascent to the surface is always possible.

The only dangerous thing in the lake is panic, bad gas or a medical problem.

flots.

 

[debajo agua]

Yes, it could. He could also have reached the surface, been conscious briefly, and then passed out.

Police said Finch was unresponsive before reaching the surface, and was recovered by the two divers and brought to shore.

 

[boulderjohn]

Police said Finch was unresponsive before reaching the surface, and was recovered by the two divers and brought to shore.

Yes, they did. I had to go back to find the quote:

The two divers said Finch was rapidly swimming toward the surface from about 60 feet below. Police said Finch was unresponsive before reaching the surface, and was recovered by the two divers and brought to shore.

But you have to wonder about the accuracy of that statement. How do they know it was true?

The only way I can think they could possibly know would be if the divers who were with him overtook his panicked ascent rate and got to him before he reached the surface and found him unresponsive then. It is still possible that a cerebral arterial gas embolism (CAGE) could have killed him by that time. A CAGE can act like a very bad stroke and act almost instantly.

 

[Hatul]

Had exactly the same problem happen with an instabuddy on her first post cert dive.
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Mouth pieces coming off is a common problem that students should have stressed more. I know I had one come off in the first 20 dives I did.

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I agree with you about adding mouthpiece coming off the reg to basic Scuba training. Both in terms of checking gear and what to do when it happens. I know it happened to me once and I keep reading about this happening to others.

 

[debajo agua]

Yes, they did. I had to go back to find the quote:


But you have to wonder about the accuracy of that statement. How do they know it was true?



The only way I can think they could possibly know would be if the divers who were with him overtook his panicked ascent rate and got to him before he reached the surface and found him unresponsive then. It is still possible that a cerebral arterial gas embolism (CAGE) could have killed him by that time. A CAGE can act like a very bad stroke and act almost instantly.

Agreed... Accurate media reporting is a rarity. I hope more information becomes available in the near future. A coroner's report would be a gold mine. Hopefully, we'll get some more facts about this incident.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

As one trained in accident investigation, I have to say that all the speculation here is just that, and it is based on the poorest of information--two newspaper articles. Until competant people have evaluated the equipment, and an autopsy has been conducted, there is almost nothing to base any conclusions on. The facts, depth, three divers, one dies, etc. do not point to any specific cause. While it is good to know about the death of this diver, we really do not have enough here to make anything other than a few guesses about what may have happened.

SeaRat

 

[DandyDon]

As one trained in accident investigation, I have to say that all the speculation here is just that, and it is based on the poorest of information--two newspaper articles. Until competant people have evaluated the equipment, and an autopsy has been conducted, there is almost nothing to base any conclusions on. The facts, depth, three divers, one dies, etc. do not point to any specific cause. While it is good to know about the death of this diver, we really do not have enough here to make anything other than a few guesses about what may have happened.

SeaRat

All true, but then typical of what we have to discuss here. Accidents happen, we get questionable news stories about them, we discuss the what-ifs and speculations - all to learn from the possibilities. It helps, even tho it's official.

 

[debajo agua]

Unfortunately in NY, you have to be the next of kin to get a ME's report. I did find out that the other divers are both medically trained, one being an RN, the other is working for EMS, so the story that victim was not breathing, once he reached the surface, seems creditable (i.e. if the news media reported it accurately). It also gives the reasonable assumption that CPR was administered quickly and adequately.

Here's Another Link:

Bridgeport teen dead after Skaneateles Lake scuba accident : News : CNYcentral.com

 

[tjbald11]

Anyone hear any new information?

I was curious and did a little internet search and all I came across was this and figured I would share it with you guys. Doesn't offer any new information, but it is cool to see the boy's mother is still interested in diving. I'd love to see a fellow diver get back under the water.

Brandon Finch - Memorial Diving Fund | Indiegogo