BSAC Accident Logs 2004

[dbulmer]

Hoppy,
I do think there needs to be a sense of perspective with incidents reports in general but at the same time you don't want to discourage people from making reports. The whole purpose of them is to make people aware of what can go wrong and learn from them. None of the reports are any worse than what you can read here or anywhere else for that matter IMHO but I think divers do sometimes need to be reminded that nasty things can happen in diving and that it's better to be safe than sorry.

I speak from personal experience here - jumping in the shallow end of a pool with full kit on and breaking yer leg is not something I'm going to be allowed to forget!!! ever !

 

[ScubaFreak]

jumping in the shallow end of a pool with full kit on and breaking yer leg is not something I'm going to be allowed to forget!!! ever !

Ow! :shiner:

 

[Hoppy]

Hoppy,
I do think there needs to be a sense of perspective with incidents reports in general but at the same time you don't want to discourage people from making reports. The whole purpose of them is to make people aware of what can go wrong and learn from them. None of the reports are any worse than what you can read here or anywhere else for that matter IMHO but I think divers do sometimes need to be reminded that nasty things can happen in diving and that it's better to be safe than sorry.

Yep, I appreciate that, but I just had this idea that incidents would be of a certain level of severity before being accepted in the stats, second stages falling off would be like a fin strap breaking.

I speak from personal experience here - jumping in the shallow end of a pool with full kit on and breaking yer leg is not something I'm going to be allowed to forget!!! ever !

Ooooooo bet that hurt, egowise as well as physically. Did that make the incident figures ?
I take it alls well now though ?

 

[dbulmer]

Ego didn't come into it, I was dangerous before then It was reported to the SAA and I even got someone from the SAA asking if I wanted to claim on insurance ... I declined on the grounds of ... well, ego, really ....

 

[mania]

Yep, I appreciate that, but I just had this idea that incidents would be of a certain level of severity before being accepted in the stats, second stages falling off would be like a fin strap breaking.

Yes and no. A friend of mine during the under ice diving - so from the very beggining rather a dangerous dive - had a similar accident - her not properly screwed regulator simple felt apart. She totally panicked so instead of switching to her back up franticly run to her partner showing OOA. Thanks to his calm nature he simply gave her his ragulator. They of course called the dive.
So - she is an expierience diver but panic has taken her over. Now with just a bit of imagination you could see a many things that could go wrong on this dive just because of falling off regulator....
Mania

 

[The Chairman]

I guess it's all timing... but I do appreciate Hoppy's point. If it CAUSED an incident like that, then it should be reported... but calling off on the surface, what's it gonna do? Stub his toe?

 

[nshon]

I'm surprised at how often divers lose control of their buoyancy and bolt to the surface. Granted, dry suits (I have no experience with them at all, look at profile) should be harder to control but I have had a buddy(not wearing dry suit) who did a uncontrolled ascent because he didn't know how to deflate his BCD (he was holding the deflator horizontally, instead of vertically).

No ill effects were noticed but it happened again during a night dive when he complained about not being able to deflate his BCD.... nearly 50 dives logged and he did not know how to use a BCD!

 

[Foo]

it happened again during a night dive when he complained about not being able to deflate his BCD

Did you talk to him about it after the first dive? Sounds like he needs someone to show him the proper way to deflate.

Foo

 

[Cudabait]

It is a good report...serves a good purpose. I have learned something from it.

Regards,

 

[JasonH20]

As a newbie diver, these reports don't discourage me much, but drive home that you really need to stop and think about what you're doing out there. Several of the fatalities were caused by not using the equipment correctly, and is sobering to read how many people sank from the surface to their death.

Though I've actually done 6 "introductory" dives in Hawaii, I'm just starting my OW cert now. Only 2 pool sessions so far, so not sure if we'll practice this in class or not, but I think I'll definately practice ditching my weights a few times in the pool. It seems like it should be an easy thing to do, but reading these reports leads me to think that isn't always the case? Or does the diver just forget to dump weights?

The other thing that stuck out was diving as a threesome. A couple of the reports involved 2 of the divers being distracted and loosing contact with the 3rd. Is it inherently safer to just have 1 buddy rather than 2 (a threesome)? That way you have each others full attention?

Still looking forward to getting certified,
Jason