Diver below 83
Contributor
Without picking on either of you, let's parse what this means for the victim. I agree with both of you re: signaling.
But for the diver that's survived the event and is out there drifting in the current, a dive light won't work reliably during the daytime, especially among the wave reflections. At night, it won't work unless the diver is aware enough to locate the sound of the plane and direct the light in that direction.
I'm interested in the best choice for the semi-conscious floating diver.
At night, it's clear that even a dim flashing 9v light will help, especially for those on NVG's, but specifically because it flashes. Many studies have shown the marked increase in visibility of a flashing light over a constant light.
During the day, it's harder. A signal mirror will clearly stand out if the user can handle it and there is sunlight to be used. But absent sunlight, and a conscious, active diver, we're short a good beacon except for radio/GPS, and that is battery-limited.
Thoughts?
Important note about lights use with NODS. An LED light will not show up while wearing NODS. Both green lasers and LED lights won’t work. So a good old standard non LED light will serve you really well at night