Sure, I understand... and I don't mean to be pedantic about this. I know that you are trying to learn and help, just like the rest of us.
The main difference I see between this forum and an actual accident investigation is that we almost never have access to even the most basic, accurate information about the actual event. Also, our mission isn't to find out what happened to THIS kid, but to discuss (as you are doing) the likely and unlikely reasons to explain the facts that we do have.
DCS and Ox Tox are clearly ludicrous things to consider in a 17 foot dive, but I don't think that anyone was suggesting them. Barotrauma, on the other hand, is a very real risk when anyone breathes compressed gas at depth, and is especially a consideration when the diver is a child who may not follow the instructions so well and hold their breath on ascent. So it's worthwhile discussing it, to underscore to people reading this thread that it is a real risk, and one of the few risks that are there even on very shallow dives.
People often are quick to say that a death was from "medical causes", which implies that diving had nothing to do with it. And sure, we are divers, and psychologically we tend to minimize the risk. So yes, a 68 year old obese diver who dies on a dive could have had a heart attack. But the heart attack might not have happened without the stress of the dive, and might well have been survivable on land.
Similarly, some 11 year olds do develop new onset seizure disorder, but I would strongly consider that a seizure on surfacing was diving related - possibly from hypoxia or AGE.
The main difference I see between this forum and an actual accident investigation is that we almost never have access to even the most basic, accurate information about the actual event. Also, our mission isn't to find out what happened to THIS kid, but to discuss (as you are doing) the likely and unlikely reasons to explain the facts that we do have.
DCS and Ox Tox are clearly ludicrous things to consider in a 17 foot dive, but I don't think that anyone was suggesting them. Barotrauma, on the other hand, is a very real risk when anyone breathes compressed gas at depth, and is especially a consideration when the diver is a child who may not follow the instructions so well and hold their breath on ascent. So it's worthwhile discussing it, to underscore to people reading this thread that it is a real risk, and one of the few risks that are there even on very shallow dives.
People often are quick to say that a death was from "medical causes", which implies that diving had nothing to do with it. And sure, we are divers, and psychologically we tend to minimize the risk. So yes, a 68 year old obese diver who dies on a dive could have had a heart attack. But the heart attack might not have happened without the stress of the dive, and might well have been survivable on land.
Similarly, some 11 year olds do develop new onset seizure disorder, but I would strongly consider that a seizure on surfacing was diving related - possibly from hypoxia or AGE.