Are there any diving specific accident publications with stats, case-studies, and best practices?

[boulderjohn]

My recollection is there was some discussion a while back (2010?) about the number of divers who died being found with empty tanks and whether or not they actually went OOG or if the tanks drained during/after the incident. I dont recall if there was an official consensus.

That is an issue, and I know of one such example myself.

In this case a group of divers surfaced after a dive close to shore--no more than a standard swimming pool away. They talked briefly, and all still had plenty of air. Some went into shore on the surface, and some went in under water. One of them never made it. That diver was later found at just about the point they had surfaced and then submerged again, and the diver's tank was completely empty.

 

[Rred]

Bob-
"I was never taught to open the valve only a 1/4 turn." Neither was I. But two folks I dove with, who happened to have both gone to the same YMCA/PADI course, probably with the same instructor, came away with some gems like that.

I don't worry about the pull rod on my J's, although I have lost one rod over the years and they seem darned pricey when and if you can find replacements. (And stainless rod stock isn't easy to bend up.) I'm not normally in kelp beds or toher areas that might "pull" the rod. I do have my left arm trained in muscle memory, so that when it is tucked alongside my body, from time to time I will make a point to toggle the J rod, ensuring it is operable and positioned. Sure, it can fail. Anything can fail. But some things are so damned simple and reliable, that it is a no-brainer to expect them to work.

And again, if it doesn't work? OK, remember to exhale while ascending. It is easy to panic, but that was a prime argument and difference with NASDS. They required panic screening in the pool, while PADI didn't allow it. The argument was that panic screening can kill someone, don't do it. Or, panic screening could tell you who shouldn't be allowed to go SCUBA in the first place.

So NASDS required a harassment session, and PADI (and SSI as well) doesn't allow it. No one wants to talk about how and why some folks really SHOULD NOT be certified, and how that might affect the sport.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Some stats from the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber Volunteer Crew Training Class:

Initial Reported or Observed Problem of Divers Brought to the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber (1995 - 2000):

Buoyancy Problem: 12%
Air Supply Problem: 11%
Buddy Problems: 10%
Decompression Problem: 6%
Equalizing Problem: 6%
Pain: 6%
Uncomfortable: 5%
Environmental Problem: 4%
Equipment Problem: 3%
Medical Problem: 3%
Regulator Problem: 3%
Rapid Ascent: 2%
Fatigue: 2%
Rebreather Problem: 2%
Mask Problem: 2%
Aspiration (water): 1%
Panic: 1%
No Problems Noted: approx. 10% occurrence

Quote: Divers Brought to the Catalina Chamber
--Did They Panic During the Dive?
Panicked: 33%
Did not Panic: 42%
Unknown: 25%

Quote: Divers Brought to the Catalina Chamber and
Suffering From AGE/Drowning/Near Drowning
--Did They Panic During the Dive?
Panicked: 51%
Did not Panic: 19%
Unknown: 30%

Quote:Cases from 1995 thru 2000
Of 154 Divers Brought to the Chamber:
76 (49%) Recompressed:
43 (57%) of which were DCS related
33 (43%) of which were Air Embolism related

78 (51%) Not Recompressed:
23 (29%) Rule Out AGE
23 (29%) Rule Out DCS
19 (24%) Near Drowning
9 (12%) Drowning
4 (5%) AGE/DCS, But Refused Treatment Against Medical Advice.

Of 154 Dive Casualties:
19 (12%) Full Arrest --Fatalities.

 

[rkinder]

Bob-
"I was never taught to open the valve only a 1/4 turn." Neither was I. But two folks I dove with, who happened to have both gone to the same YMCA/PADI course, probably with the same instructor, came away with some gems like that.

I don't worry about the pull rod on my J's, although I have lost one rod over the years and they seem darned pricey when and if you can find replacements. (And stainless rod stock isn't easy to bend up.) I'm not normally in kelp beds or toher areas that might "pull" the rod. I do have my left arm trained in muscle memory, so that when it is tucked alongside my body, from time to time I will make a point to toggle the J rod, ensuring it is operable and positioned. Sure, it can fail. Anything can fail. But some things are so damned simple and reliable, that it is a no-brainer to expect them to work.

And again, if it doesn't work? OK, remember to exhale while ascending. It is easy to panic, but that was a prime argument and difference with NASDS. They required panic screening in the pool, while PADI didn't allow it. The argument was that panic screening can kill someone, don't do it. Or, panic screening could tell you who shouldn't be allowed to go SCUBA in the first place.

So NASDS required a harassment session, and PADI (and SSI as well) doesn't allow it. No one wants to talk about how and why some folks really SHOULD NOT be certified, and how that might affect the sport.

Panic screening was a great part of the early days of diving, I still remember every part of the harassment we received. My instructors favorite saying was if you can't do it get out of my class this is not for you. I still have a policy in which a single panic during open water checkouts is an automatic fail. It's ok to have a problem and remain calm but panic will repeat at some time in the future. I don't do things to cause panic, but watch real close for it. As an instructor it is my job to tell them when it is not for them. I know that is not the proper line today, but a divers life is more valuable than any money I would earn giving them a card.

 

[Sam Miller III]

!) In the genesis of recreational diving it was noted that untrained or poorly trained divers were going to that big reef in the sky in alarming numbers

LA Co UW Instructor Association, the worlds first civilian diving (Skin and SCUBA) training organization was established in 1954 to provide all inclusive dive training to residence of LA county ,

LA County also established a protocol for post mortem dive investigations consisting of four parts
!) Instructor investigation as to accepted established dive procedures - (report written)
2) Life guard investigation, if appropriate, and involved - (report written)
3) Equipment examined by qualified 2 party for defects (report written)
4) Mandatory full autopsy performed by coroner (report written)
Entire package was developed in to a singe report

<for a number of years Dr. Tom Naguchi was the LA co coroner and performed all of the autopsies >
Some how all of those reports have been buried in the dust of LA CO

2) J rod
toss -- when it is needed to be checked or activated you arm will automatically grow at least 6 inches and you can reach the valve with ease

3) NADS was established by the late great John Gaffney. Under his leadership NASDS was one of the most innovative dive programs ever established.
>> VIPs ? NASDS & Gaffney
>>Shop Association ... Some may recall the close association with SCUBA pro--If the shop was NASDS it was also a SCUBA Pro Shop-( an off shoot from the "Long Beach Mafia - A story for another time)
Etc

But John Gaffney will always be remembered by the veterans of SoCal diving for submitting an application to a fledging PADI in Costa Mesa California who with out checking certified his dog as a PADI instructor ---

Those were fun exciting day that will never ever be experienced again in the diving world
Tha dazz of our dives...

SDM

 

[Rred]

rk-
Our instructor called it "harassment day" as I recall. We were told to get in the pool and stay submerged untik our tanks were empty, regardless of what the instructors and aides did, and that everything was fair play.

OK, I had no problem with that. I had always swum with noseclips (!) and learning to swim and breath with my nose open in the water wasn't my favorite concept, but OK, I knew how to deal with that. So I'm trying to be a flounder on the bottom in the deep end, with my eyes all around me, and one of the aides comes up, doffs his tank, and motions for me to hold onto it for him. He's gonna go be "the out of air buddy from hell" for a couple of folks. And I slowly realize, here I am, all comfy, trying to stay awake, with not just one but TWO FULL TANKS! So maybe I'll turn off the valve on his tank....Nah, my Evil Twin Brother EMPTIED his tank, then turned off the valve (turnabout IS fair play) and when he came back for his rig, I gave it to him and swam off.

You'd never think someone could scream and curse quite so eloquently under water.(G)

That was almost as much fun as drinking a bottle of coke & sending it back up, empty. Or the day we spent chasing some poor goldfish around. Almost.(G)

 

[RayJayJr]

Wow this blew up...

Some great information posted here. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far.

A few points for everyone:

• I will update the original post (OP) to consolidate what everyone has posted.
• Please keep the digressions to a minimum. This thread is meant to be about sharing resources and relevant discussion.

A few comments for discussion:

Caveat: I'm not an expert on risk. My comments should be considered with this in mind.

• For Instructors: Do you read through any data sets and their RCAs (root-cause analysis) with any degree of frequency? Do you help your students to disseminate and apply this information?

• For Everyone: How are the manuals these days? I had a look through some of my old manuals dating back 5-10 years, including some technical manuals, and there was surprisingly little discussion or relevant resources available on this topic. Usually just a quick "Oh hey, this thing called DAN exists. You might need it someday!" or "Here's a made up story about a diver named bob who DIED." I find this lack of honest discussion, disturbing.

One of the skills you learn in any basic avalanche safety training (AST) course is how to properly report incidents and near-misses, where to read about them, and light discussion on application of knowledge. This allows people to (and the data seems to reflect this) better inform their decision-making processes at CDPs (Critical Decision Points. Points in time where making a wrong decision or interpretation might kill you vs maybe going home to see your family at the end of the day).

What else haven't we learned yet? Surely there must be some honed strategies from other high-risk sports that we've forgotten to apply? Mantra like "educate, don't alienate", and discussing real-world accidents in introductory diving courses...

 

[Don conner]

!) In the genesis of recreational diving it was noted that untrained or poorly trained divers were going to that big reef in the sky in alarming numbers

LA Co UW Instructor Association, the worlds first civilian diving (Skin and SCUBA) training organization was established in 1954 to provide all inclusive dive training to residence of LA county ,

LA County also established a protocol for post mortem dive investigations consisting of four parts
!) Instructor investigation as to accepted established dive procedures - (report written)
2) Life guard investigation, if appropriate, and involved - (report written)
3) Equipment examined by qualified 2 party for defects (report written)
4) Mandatory full autopsy performed by coroner (report written)
Entire package was developed in to a singe report

<for a number of years Dr. Tom Naguchi was the LA co coroner and performed all of the autopsies >
Some how all of those reports have been buried in the dust of LA CO

2) J rod
toss -- when it is needed to be checked or activated you arm will automatically grow at least 6 inches and you can reach the valve with ease

3) NADS was established by the late great John Gaffney. Under his leadership NASDS was one of the most innovative dive programs ever established.
>> VIPs ? NASDS & Gaffney
>>Shop Association ... Some may recall the close association with SCUBA pro--If the shop was NASDS it was also a SCUBA Pro Shop-( an off shoot from the "Long Beach Mafia - A story for another time)
Etc

But John Gaffney will always be remembered by the veterans of SoCal diving for submitting an application to a fledging PADI in Costa Mesa California who with out checking certified his dog as a PADI instructor ---

Those were fun exciting day that will never ever be experienced again in the diving world
Tha dazz of our dives...

SDM

Gaff was my mentor took me under his wing he was the best