Complacency kills - It's not just an empty threat!

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Wow. Gave me chills to read your timeline. Glad you’re okay.
 
Thanks for sharing the details of this incident. I don't think I've ever read such a detailed account of a PPO2 blackout incident before. It's a bit scary just how fast that can happen, even before you really started the dive.

I also really appreciate the comment about the difference a non-Negative entry made to this incident. I have had many "debates" about this with dive buddies who swear by negative entries. I say that going negative leaves you just one mistake from disaster. So many incidents can be avoided with just a few seconds on the surface to address a problem that is easy to fix while you still have atmosphere to breath and communication with others.

I don't want to start an MCCR vs ECCR debate, but this sort of issue is exactly why I picked MCCR over 10 years ago. No wonky electronics, and the O2 flows as long as the tank is on.
 
Yep, thanks for sharing and hats off to your first responders! I wonder if any had RD Card?

on a boat about to go to a 200ft wreck? I imagine they all were..... Whether it mattered is questionable though. Not to derail @hroark2112 's thread, but since RD came up, a lot of what is taught in most RD courses is analyzing the situation and checking on the victim in the water to evaluate the situation. If the divers had done that, he'd probably not be posting. The real trick with all of this is get their a$$ back to the boat as soon as f*cking possible and let the people on the boat handle it who aren't encumbered by equipment and in the water with no other tools to help. It's something that at the very end of our rescue course when we have them do a couple full out rescue scenarios *hidden diver in a quarry, taking fast fixes from a dock, etc etc*, and time them, the end discussion there is how much more time it would have taken if they were giving rescue breaths in the water vs. just kicking like their own life depended on it. Getting them back to the surface ASAP is clutch.

@hroark2112 have you thought about putting your KISS O2 valve as the MAV on your eccr to make it an hccr?
 
Yep, thanks for sharing and hats off to your first responders! I wonder if any had RD Card?

So along the lines of "You're one lucky SOB!!", the folks who saved me included a medical professional and an instructor trainer.
 
The hardest part of the RD class was S&R along with giving cpr while floating the victim to the shore or Boat and then.....Having the ability to get the victim up onto the Boat by myself! This card should be required before AOW imho.
 
Rescue is a tough enough course, add in a rebreather and 2 AL80's for bailout. The boat has a diver lift, which makes getting a diver with a crap-ton of gear out of the water significantly easier. I never thought about it on any of the previous dives, I just thought about how nice it was to take the elevator up and not to have to climb a ladder with all that gear.
 
@hroark2112
Thanks for sharing your incident, especially owning up to making mistakes!! I really liked the timeline that was included. It makes it easier to follow the events. Glad you are ok and able to keep diving.

- Jeff
 
Awesome writeup... thanks so much for sharing! So glad that you are still with us. Excellent point about the wing, I always jump with a full wing. I avoid dive plans where a negative entry is required.

I would like to ask some questions about the accident. Please read this in the spirit that was intended, and presumably in the spirit that you posted - the goal being to learn and to become safer divers. I'm a newby, and I know that any of us could have a similar problem.

While there were certainly mechanical problems with the unit, it seems that the accident was caused by pilot issues. A malfunctioning solenoid control system shouldn't cause any serious problem if the PO2 is being monitored (as you pointed out).

Questions:

1) Hypoxic dil?

2) Do you normally follow a printed pre-flight checklist? Not a build checklist, but a checklist once you are in the unit?

3) Do you normally do a pre-breathe, either as part of a checklist or otherwise?

4) What do you think that the issue was that prevented you from noticing the dropping PO2? Being rushed? Otherwise distracted? HUD problem?

Again, thanks for the post!
 

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