Diver dies on 60m deep air dive

[dmaziuk]

Are you gonna hold the other side in this argument to the same standard?

No because if your argument is some divers on some dives get more narc'ed than others, I completely agree. Or that a dive to 60 metres is just in general more risky than a dive to 30: sure is.

You seem to be implying a trend: everybody who dives to 60 metres on air is playing Russian roulette and will be stoned senseless and will get themselves killed. That's just scare-mongering rubbish with no "scientific" backing for it.

Accidents can happen to people on the surface with trimix in their CCR, and have. Helium rebreathers kill!!!

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

@Bob DBF,

Didn't you post a great quote from a mentor about the problem of narcosis? Something along the lines of when you are dealing with an emergency and are task loaded, then you discover how much of an issue narcosis is.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Just a personal anecdote, but many years ago we did air dives to ~50 msw to look at wrecks off Sydney. We were diving on tables, with detailed dive profiles & air consumption planned out on slates. We were all affected by narcosis to varying degrees at that depth, but all the divers were able to follow the dive plan fine. On one dive though we had a person who became badly narc'ed. He was diving on independent twins, and he simply couldn't work out the relation between his SPGs and the regulators. He kept removing one regulator and then putting the same one back in, and he couldn't understand why the pressure in one tank was dropping and the other one was still full. He knew something was wrong, but he couldn't work out how to fix it. His buddy helped him and after they ascended a short distance he was fine again.

Afterwards we had a good laugh about it, but he obviously couldn't dive to that depth safely on air. There was nothing in terms of age, fitness, etc. that set him apart from the rest of us, but his ability to reason his way through simple tasks just evaporated once he hit about 45 m.

On every dive to that depth or only the once?

 

[Bob DBF]

@Bob DBF,

Didn't you post a great quote from a mentor about the problem of narcosis? Something along the lines of when you are dealing with an emergency and are task loaded, then you discover how much of an issue narcosis is.

I was told by one of my mentors, the real problem with narcosis is not knowing you are narked, then finding out during an emergency that you are. That surprise may last long enough to kill you.

That bit of information has served me well, and I dive deep like a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.



Since I have less reason to get too far outside of rec limits as I get older, I choose to stick with my training. If I was to continue to do big dives, my choice would be different. Other divers should make their choices on their needs and the variety and quality of training that is available today.


Bob

 

[John the Pom]

On every dive to that depth or only the once?

That was his first dive past 40 m, and I hope it was his only dive to that depth on air.

 

[mafi]

@mac64, do you realize that high gas density (above 6g/l) significantly increases WOB that can easily lead to hypercapnia, as you just cannot sufficiently expel CO2?

Granted, It's different case than in rebreathers, where the scrubber is the culprit, but hypercapnia is an issue on OC nonetheless.

Feel free to educate yourself when your hands get tired from all the chest-thumbing

Alert Diver | Performance Under Pressure

Video, if you are more visual:

Primary sources:
1. Anthony G, Mitchell S. Respiratory physiology of rebreather diving. In: Pollock NW, Sellers SH, Godfrey JM, eds. Rebreathers and Scientific Diving. Proceedings of NPS/NOAA/DAN/AAUS June 16-19, 2015, Workshop. Durham, NC; 2016; 66-79. Available at: https://www.omao.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Rebreathers and Scientific Diving Proceedings 2016.pdf. Accessed March 25, 2019.
2. Warkander DE, Norfleet WT, Nagasawa GK, Lundgren CEG. CO2 retention with minimal symptoms but severe dysfunction during wet simulated dives to 6.8 ATA abs. Undersea Biomed. Res. 1990; 17(6):515-523.
3. Lambertsen CJ, Gelfand R, Lever MJ, Bodammer G, Takano N, Reed TA, et al. Respiration and gas exchange during a 14-day continuous exposure to 5.2% O2 in N2 at pressure equivalent to 100 FSW (4 ATA). Aerosp. Med. 1973; 44:844-849.
4. Doolette DJ, Mitchell SJ. Hyperbaric conditions. Comprehensive Physiol. 2011; 1:163-201.

 

[Wingy]

Of course Hypercapnia is not normal....!! Does not mean it is not a condition that doesn't affect OC divers who've been put (in my case) into a very sudden stressful situation requiring a very heavy physical workload when a SHTF situation arose. No I didn't see a doctor, I recognised it for what it was and thanks to having a few good mentors remembered my training and dealt with it.

If a diver is getting Hypercapnia for no obvious reason then see a doctor. If you have one chance to fix a fk up and it means you get one helluva headache then do that. I can't see anyone wanting to experience Hypercapnia for the fun of it.

 

[RayfromTX]

---

---

A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

There has been a major thread clean up. The discussion of deep air diving has been moved to Diving air to 60m . Several posts have been deleted in their entirety.

There are special rules for posting in the A&I forum and it has a special purpose.

Special Rules for the Accidents & Incidents Forum

The purpose of this forum is the promotion of safe diving through the examination and discussion of accidents and incidents; to find lessons we can apply to our own diving.
Accidents, and incidents that could easily have become accidents, can often be used to illustrate actions that lead to injury or death, and their discussion is essential to building lessons learned from which improved safety can flow. To foster the free exchange of information valuable to this process, the "manners" in this forum are much more tightly controlled than elsewhere on the board. In addition to the TOS:

New Rules:

• Someone has died or been injured. Please show the proper dignity, etiquette and refrain from any demeaning remarks. We discourage the family from reading these threads, but you can bet they still will. Let's be civil, sensitive and still remain relevant. This forum is only intended for learning and not assigning blame.
• This is a strict 'No Troll' and 'No Chest Thumping' zone. It's not the place to keep repeating your favorite topic no matter how important or relevant you may imagine it to be. Nor is it the place to tell us how this wouldn't have happened if they dove/taught the way you do.
• You may not use real names here, until after they have appeared in the public domain (articles, news reports, sheriff's report etc.) Please cite the source if you do.
• Discussions should only be about the causes, theories and remedies for these accidents. Off topic posts or those with off topic comments may be removed without notice. Condolences, including comments indicating surprise and indignation, should be kept to the Passings Forum, legal action should be kept to the Scuba Related Court Cases Forum and so forth.
• If you are presenting information from a source other than your own eyes and ears, please cite the source. Links are preferred.
• Those who can not seem to follow these rules will have their access to this forum quickly revoked. As always, you should use the report button rather than bicker about possible infractions in the thread.

Failure to be respectful of other members with differing opinions will result in a loss of posting privileges in the A&I forum. Thanks for your participation, your passion and your understanding.

---

 

[w3dge]

I was on the pontoon on my own kitting up when the husband first popped up, shortly followed by this poor lady. After shouting for help I entered the water and towed her to the pontoon, de-kitted and helped pass her up. My dive buddy (a vet) quickly arrived and started working on her, and within 15 minutes there was a fast response vehicle, 3 ambulances and an air ambulance on scene, but it wasn't enough unfortunately. Tragic.

Kit was very negatively buoyant when I removed it, and there didn't seem to be any gas left to inflate. I was then kitting up again to enter the water and look for the third diver once the husband alerted us to his presence - thankfully he surfaced a few minutes later after completing his deco.

A bad day all around really.

 

[Graeme Fraser]

I was on the pontoon on my own kitting up when the husband first popped up, shortly followed by this poor lady. After shouting for help I entered the water and towed her to the pontoon, de-kitted and helped pass her up. My dive buddy (a vet) quickly arrived and started working on her, and within 15 minutes there was a fast response vehicle, 3 ambulances and an air ambulance on scene, but it wasn't enough unfortunately. Tragic.

Kit was very negatively buoyant when I removed it, and there didn't seem to be any gas left to inflate. I was then kitting up again to enter the water and look for the third diver once the husband alerted us to his presence - thankfully he surfaced a few minutes later after completing his deco.

A bad day all around really.

A bad day indeed. Nobody wants to see that. Well done to you and your buddy for doing your bit though mate.