Any idea if it was an accidental switch to a properly labeled tank, a non labeled or mislabeled tank or what? What are the details that caused him to make the mistake of going onto o2 at that depth?
I knew Carlos reasonably well but rarely dove with him. I spoke with one of the guys with him last night and he advised that Carlos had filled the tank himself (he has a full mix/blend station at home), labelled it as O2, but at the site, insisted it was air and dove it in spite of repeated questioning from other members of the team. Please note that the person who passed this along was NOT diving with him, and that I am passing this along second hand. I cannot verify this as true.
However, if this is true, then it is going to leave many scratching their heads. Including me. What many people don't know is that while Carlos had done a lot of training, and had mounted some serious dives (including the Doria, just a couple of weeks ago), he was a relatively new diver, only having been certified, I believe, about three years ago. In that time, he earned everything up to and including Full Trimix and Full Cave. He had done a ton of diving in those few years...
What I can absolutely confirm, is that Carlos' larger than life personality often channeled itself into rabid enthusiasm for the sport and he was a highly enthusiastic mentor and cheerleader for less experienced divers. My experience diving with him, while limited, indicated that he was skilled and competent. He was a character in every sense of the word. This same big personality rubbed more than a few people the wrong way, especially in the Internet world. His FB personality was nothing like the real man, who I quite liked.
Those of us that knew him will miss his frequent pranks. His wife and young daughter are in our thoughts.
There's a lesson here... besides just testing, testing, testing. I'm just not sure what it is yet.