Accident at Lake Rawlings Sunday 05/27/2012

[TechDeep]

I guess what's especially sad and disturbing about this is that the instructor might have been doing everything by the book, and the diver was still lost in the water and died. We don't like to think about the possibility of that happening. We'd like to think that we're safe on training dives in particular, as long as everyone follows the rules.

So, that leaves us highly motivated to see if there's something that could be done better in the future.

http://www.lakerawlings.com/Downloads/Lake_Rawlings_Dive_Map.pdf

Can somebody tell us which platform this happened at?

Platform #1

 

[Sorrows]

We (husband, wife, and teenaged son) did our course/pool work with Splash Dive nearly 8 years ago (we did the OW part in Roatan.) I believe there were 9 people in our group, and we had two instructors. In the pool, we had additional DMs to help out. Our instructors, btw, were superb--really cannot say enough good things about them. We've done additional course work through these instructors--and Splash--and have always had a truly excellent experience.

Although we didn't do our OW at Rawlings, I have been there several times. My son completed a lot of his DM training there, also with Splash dive. This accident is shocking to me because it doesn't even seem possible.Yes, the viz is very bad, there are numerous thermoclines, everybody wears 6 m wetsuits and probably carries too much weight, but...Lake Rawlings?

FYI, the "artifacts" could have been several things--a school bus, dentist chair, boat, etc. Their claim to fame is that a scene from a Keanu Reeves movie was filmed there.

In this month's Undercurrent, there is an excellent article about the perplexing number of deceased divers found with plenty of air in their tanks and their regulators out of their mouths. But this wasn't the case here--she had plenty of air and her regulator was found in her mouth. I wonder if panic didn't play a big part in this tragedy and I wonder if the poor viz wasn't a big part of that?

I used to joke that if I'd done my OW at Rawlings, that would have been my last diving experience. I didn't find the course and pool work all that difficult, except for one thing....when you have to remove your mask and swim, we were advised to keep our eyes closed (to protect them from the chlorine) I hated that feeling of swimming blind; it sent me into a panic that disappeared the moment I opened my eyes, deciding that a little chlorine burn was the lesser of two evils.

Anyway, everybody has their thing, and for some of us visibility is that thing. I've had several friends become certified over the last few years and I've always strongly advised them to skip Rawlings and go to Florida or Bonaire. Yes, I know that isn't always an option...but if you have a spouse who is already somewhat reluctant or nervous, you need to remove anything that might make her more so. IMHO.

Sorry, I know that I am speculating, and that probably isn't very helpful. That a young woman should die so needlessly and inexplicably is deeply troubling; I guess the only thing to do is wait for the "lessons learned."

 

[Katch]

I think the thermoclines could have played a significant role in this tragedy. Lake Rawlings has such strong thermoclines, you can actually see them. It wouldn’t surprise me if dropping through one helped induce a shock which could have led to worse (heart attack, etc).

The thermocline there this past Saturday was at 18-20 feet. My dive buddy was getting cold in a 5 mil with a 2 mil hooded vest (I was in a drysuit). I think the bottom was at 56 degrees @ 60 feet.

 

[t4e]

If visibility is bad, it is remarkably easy to lose your buddy. Turn your head away for a few seconds while your buddy goes a different direction, and that person is gone. I have seen it happen with a group of instructors who were trying to stay together. When that happens, you are supposed to follow a lost buddy procedure by looking for one another for a minute and then ascending to the surface. That works if everyone does it. If one person doesn't ascend, then there is a period of confusion as the rest of the team tries to figure out what to do. How long do we wait on the surface before beginning a search? (If you all begin to search too soon and the other diver surfaces, then what?)

You seem to assume that the missing diver was "not noticed" for an extended period of time. That is very unlikely. More likely is that the missing diver was missed almost immediately and then not found; the diver was being sought for that period of time rather than not being missed.

Let's look at what MIGHT have happened in a case like this one. The clue to why the diver was being sought and not found during that time lies in the fact that she was apparently found with 900 PSI and the regulator in her mouth. That suggests that something went wrong that caused her to die while she was still actively diving and not out of air. For example, a diver who suffers a heart attack might suddenly sink toward the bottom. A buddy who does not see this in the first instant will suddenly realize she is gone. A standard buddy search process will send everyone to the surface after a minute, but she will not go there herself. After that aforementioned period of confusion, that will lead to a search that could take hours and even days. The entire time that this search is going on, she will be lying on the bottom, with no more air leaving her tank and her computer continuing to function as if she were on an active dive. If she had not been found for 3 more hours, that computer would have shown a dive in excess of 4 hours.

It is therefore not only possible that a diver who suffers a catastrophic medical event during a dive will be found with air in the PSI and a very long dive registered on the computer, that is what is what will usually happen.

thank you boulderjohn, for taking the time to provide a meaningful answer

On the contrary, it seems that you do have a problem with it. see below......

if that's all you got from my posts i guess there isn't much to talk about

Save face because you are applying your personal opinion(uneducated as it may be) and trying to draw conclusions about the Standards of another agency......not to mention the fact that you dont fully understand the standards of whichever agency you were trained through.

pardon me for thinking that a forum is for expressing personal opinions and not an academic medium

 

[t-mac]

I think the thermoclines could have played a significant role in this tragedy. Lake Rawlings has such strong thermoclines, you can actually see them. It wouldn’t surprise me if dropping through one helped induce a shock which could have led to worse (heart attack, etc).

The thermocline there this past Saturday was at 18-20 feet. My dive buddy was getting cold in a 5 mil with a 2 mil hooded vest (I was in a drysuit). I think the bottom was at 56 degrees @ 60 feet.

I agree. I have personally witnessed outright panic in new divers based on cold and visibility issues and certainly these can have serious physical consequences in some cases. It's off topic and fortunately real tragedies like this are rare, but I am personally very conflicted about the OW philosophy of our inland shops that sell the quarry dives under the rubric "if you can do it here you can do it anywhere." It is true in a sense, but it's not all that far removed from the philosphy that in the early days made a lot of dive training about harrassment. Something for us to ponder elsewhere is whether the additional stresses posed by doing initial dives in a quarry are appropriate for everyone.

Again, it's complete speculation that cold (and dark) had anything to do with this, but I find it entirely plausible. I remember the mixture of euphoria and anxiety on my first few OW dives in a quarry. It was cold and dark and visibility only got worse the first time we were led off the platform and everyone plummeted into the muck. I'm surprised more people don't panic, actually, but among those who do we all know that physical harm is possible. Of course, it is unlikely but when it happens to you or your loved on probabilities don't really matter.

I hope we will get more facts, but one thing that struck me is that the training platform is apparently so close to a drop to 50 ft. More speculation, but if my initial plummet into the muck in OW had been from 30 to 50 ft, rather than from 30 to 33 ft, I think my stress level would have increased significantly.

 

[HIGHwing]

I don't know TechDeep, I can't support the regulator being in her mouth when found as an actual fact. You have that as 3rd hand information from someone who was on the dock, not in the water. I never heard that until you presented it, in fact I heard exactly the opposite, and your source and I heard it at the same time.

Disclaimer: After thinking about it, I'm just posting my opinion, theory, and perhaps speculation...

1) It is my opinion the accident happened just West of the boat shown adjacent to Platform #1 on the map in the deeper water

2) It is my supposition the victim attempted to swim for the surface and didn't make it. (Air-Integrated Dive computer might confirm this depending on sampling rate)

3) It is my theory this accident happened in the first third of the elapsed dive time (Air-Integrated Dive computer will confirm this possibility)

 

[kd3pc]

viz -.....not sure that I can buy it is an issue at Rawlings. I have been there many times since certification a few years back....even on crowded/training days it has always been at least 10-12 feet....we did a couple of our OW dives on the New River in SW VA....and there the viz can be an issue.

thermocline -....same deal, I just don't see how that could cause this type of incident....perhaps those with 100's (or 1000's) of dives can explain how crossing a cold line can induce this? Keep in mind she had air in her tank, reg in her mouth, IIRC ...

as to quarry dives, for my buddy and I they are as safe and protected environment as can be found to practice, learn and enjoy....those of you who only dive in crystal clear, I am sure it is nice, but for us...Rawlings is great!

 

[t-mac]

viz -.....not sure that I can buy it is an issue at Rawlings. I have been there many times since certification a few years back....even on crowded/training days it has always been at least 10-12 feet....we did a couple of our OW dives on the New River in SW VA....and there the viz can be an issue.

thermocline -....same deal, I just don't see how that could cause this type of incident....perhaps those with 100's (or 1000's) of dives can explain how crossing a cold line can induce this? Keep in mind she had air in her tank, reg in her mouth, IIRC ...

as to quarry dives, for my buddy and I they are as safe and protected environment as can be found to practice, learn and enjoy....those of you who only dive in crystal clear, I am sure it is nice, but for us...Rawlings is great!

I've only been there once and we did have "good" viz, but the quarry where I dive has quite variable viz, so like the stock market I don't assume that past results indicate future performance. Maybe Rawlings is more reliable. Not sure what it was like at the time of this incident. Perhaps someone commented on that and I missed it.

Re cold, I've seen it happen. I've never seen anyone hurt, but I've seen panic and panic definitely can precipitate physical problems. It is also possible that we do not have accurate information about the regulator in the mouth, as pointed out above. While not impossible, it would be highly unusual for someone to have their regulator in their mouth, have it functioning (do we know this?) and still have 900 lbs of air. If the facts are correct, something very rapid and catastrophic happened and it probably had something to do with an underlying physical condition. If we have bad facts, then there are any number of other possibilities.

I'm not trying to bash Rawlings (I like the place too) or quarry diving in general, but I personally do not think it is the best environment for all new divers to do their initial open water dives. It obviously "works" for the vast majority of people, but I have seen people have trouble based on the additional stresses quarries pose and for those people I believe they would be better served by a different environment until they are more comfortable.

 

[TechDeep]

I don't know TechDeep, I can't support the regulator being in her mouth when found as an actual fact. You have that as 3rd hand information from someone who was on the dock, not in the water. I never heard that until you presented it, in fact I heard exactly the opposite, and your source and I heard it at the same time.

Disclaimer: After thinking about it, I'm just posting my opinion, theory, and perhaps speculation...

1) It is my opinion the accident happened just West of the boat shown adjacent to Platform #1 on the map in the deeper water

2) It is my supposition the victim attempted to swim for the surface and didn't make it. (Air-Integrated Dive computer might confirm this depending on sampling rate)

3) It is my theory this accident happened in the first third of the elapsed dive time (Air-Integrated Dive computer will confirm this possibility)

I agree with what you say about the regulator. I got that information from the same people I was at the lake with, but that particular piece of information came a few days later when we were all at the dive shop. I would really like to find out exactly what happened. I think your theory/speculation is a viable scenario. The only other thing that I was thinking was:

Inhaling water somehow some way, possibly choking and unable to clear the water out of the regulator.

*PANIC* separation from her buddy/group and too much lead.

It is my opinion that panic preceeds the vast majority of deaths while diving. Many may say "well DUH" of course it does. I bring this up because I believe that panic can be addressed during training. Bear with me ... recognizing the very early symptoms, and positive steps to take to prevent or minimize the snowball effect it can have. Get out in front of it and perhaps live to dive again. I just believe if you arrest the panic early, lives can be saved.

I think I've seen in a sig line here on the board that "you have the rest of your life to deal with an issue while diving". Even something as simple as remembering something like that may possibly hold off panic just long enough tofigure out what you should do next. Maybe I'm all wet on this but I think spending some time while everyone is calm and safe talking about it would be a good idea.

I don't want to stray off topic, but HIGHwing I will be back at the lake a few times in the coming months. You have seen pictures of me amd my son (and my wife if you check my profile). I wouldn't mind at all if you said hello if you see me there some time.

 

[SeaHorse81]

I think I've seen in a sig line here on the board that "you have the rest of your life to deal with an issue while diving". Even something as simple as remembering something like that may possibly hold off panic just long enough tofigure out what you should do next.

You know, I've seen that sig line too and thought it was an intriguing point, but I just now really saw it as you pointed it out this way. Thanks for that (and also to whoever actually does have it in their sig line).