AOW student dies in training: Alberta

[coldwatercanada]

true but most divers in alberta use 14mm suits untill they get the drysuit certification its a very commen suit to use and is rated for up too ice diving. i did dives in water as cold as 38 degrees before i got my drysuit

 

[coldwatercanada]

thats true but they must complete pool training in the drysuit including repeating there COW skills

 

[emoreira]

Just 2 weeks ago our local quarry had an incident where an AOW course was under way. A student wearing only a 3mm wetsuit & a vest (no hood or gloves even) went down on the deep diving portion of the dive. He got just below 50 ft where the water temps are approaching 45 degrees. The student panicked & bolted to the surface. He was closely followed by another, assisting instructor, who was nearby but couldn't get to him quick enough to catch him. He came to the surface unresponsive & not breathing. The assisting instructor pulled the diver to the shore, very nearby & the quarry's emergency procedures were activated & EMS called. Once on shore, the victim vomited & resumed breathing on his own. Oxygen was administered & supportive care by several EMT's that were on site until EMS arrived. There was not much information about the diver after that other than he was transported to a hospital in Louisville, KY & did have to undergo recompression therapy. A few days later he was back to work.

I cannot understand why the instructor allowed the student to dive there with only a 3m wetsuit, no gloves and no hood is such cold waters. What was the instructor doing ? How could the instructor not see the situation ?

 

[Hawkwood]

Interesting statement to make regarding what "most divers in Alberta use". We start many OW students right away in Dry Suits. They do a class and pool orientation, then do the entire OW portion in their dry suit, with a fifth dive added for Dry Suit dive 2 for their certification. Generalizations do nothing to help the point you are trying to make.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Someone mentioned the water temp is 44F at 55 ft, which in my mind is below the safe comfortable range of a 7mm wetsuit, except perhaps for a short time. We don't know if he wore a wetsuit, but if you're chilled it also effects how you react to problems.

Depends on the diver ... I know people who dive year-round in Puget Sound in a 7mm wetsuit ... and it gets down into the low 40's here in winter (and never above mid-50's). Some folks just have more bioprene than others ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[JeffG]

Wow, I was in Jasper this last weekend and had no idea this happened.

As far as this thread goes...its actually quite funny in a sad way. I love the all these Alberta instructors comments.

It would be even cooler if I actually saw any of it in practice. lol (but they will play the card..."You were not around when I had my class....blah blah blah.

Posted by a 14mm wet suit wearing ow diver certified in Lac Beauvert.

I wonder when Brian will see this thread?

 

[Hatul]

all students diving in alberta are in 2 piece 7mm which work out to 14 mm on your core they are also give hoods and gloves

That's what I use in S California where the water temp runs 55-65. For 44 degree water I'd want a drysuit. Even here some are too cold in wetsuits.

Adam

 

[markmantei]

There was no need for the victim to fall back to depth. What might have been a rescue followed by successful CPR almost certainly became a recovery effort after the buddy dropped the diver then couldn't raise the victim.

Crush, while I would typically agree, I certainly don't fault the buddy for dropping the victim in this case. The first diver to locate the diver on the bottom was unable to even budge the victim with fully inflated equipment, which is why they had to summon additional divers to extract the victim. One of the second set of rescuers (1 of 2 divers this time) slipped bringing them to the surface and rocketed there themselves, having to go back down again to lift the victim again. I personally see the big failure here was not dropping weight, given what little I know.

 

[Crush]

Crush, while I would typically agree, I certainly don't fault the buddy for dropping the victim in this case. The first diver to locate the diver on the bottom was unable to even budge the victim with fully inflated equipment, which is why they had to summon additional divers to extract the victim. One of the second set of rescuers (1 of 2 divers this time) slipped bringing them to the surface and rocketed there themselves, having to go back down again to lift the victim again. I personally see the big failure here was not dropping weight, given what little I know.

I am not blaming the buddy for failing to perform a rescue that s/he was likely not trained for. I am blaming divers in general for diving in very challenging conditions with only a Basic OW cert and no idea of how to get your buddy to the surface. It is easy to armchair quarterback this one and criticize - that was not my intent. I just boil inside each time I read that I diver was left at the bottom by his buddy who went "to get help." The only time that this should be an option in a non-overhead environment is in the case of an entanglement. At very least if the victims weights could have been removed he would have been on the surface more quickly - bent and embolized on the surface is preferable to drowned at depth.

 

[coldwatercanada]

"I'd recomond calling both dan and padi for the stats as its easier then surfing through the books."

ummmmmm yah need there numbers? call and ask thats what i did when i was looking into this accident. they gave me no info on the accident but still answered questions i had.

"There was no need for the victim to fall back to depth"

Lets say the victim was a paniced diver on his way to the surface and once his buddy, who may or may not have been a pro then got put in danger himself and had to save themselves by dropping the victim??? or lets say under water the victim started to panic and his buddy couldnt get to his weight to release it before it was too late? plus how many of us dive with our wifes or girl friends!!If i freaked out and wouldnt let her get near me id be ****ed she couldnt fight me off to save me.


None of us know for sure and its easy to judge what may or may not have happened and again i dont want to get into a course vs course certification vs certification, store vs store thing cause its not it really isnt! All i know is how i run my class through the stores i work for and if you think im lying about being adequately staffed im sorry that you havnt experenced this through the store you dive out of. and i dont care what store that is lol