Diver missing on Oriskany 10/22/11

[phillybob]

Cool.

 

[Tricia]

I'm relieved for the family that Mr. Duffin's body has been found.

But I must add something. Earlier in this thread, a request was made to stop posting and speculating. And I posted in reply that had this happened to me, I would want people to talk about it and even speculate - because sometimes that leads to something else & knowledge gets shared and I would like that. And for me, that's one of the great things about Scubaboard - the exchange of ideas.

From the above posts re rebreathers, it seems that has been achieved. Although I have to say that I have NO idea of what the rebreather posters are talking about (it really is "Greek to me"), I can at least see that they are exchanging ideas about how you dive with them. To me, that can only be a good thing.

And although I did not have the privilege of knowing Mr. Duffin, I like to think that he's up there watching all these exchanges and glad that at least something good has come out of his sad death.

R.I.P. Pete Duffin

 

[Hetland]

I'm relieved for the family that Mr. Duffin's body has been found.

But I must add something. Earlier in this thread, a request was made to stop posting and speculating. And I posted in reply that had this happened to me, I would want people to talk about it and even speculate - because sometimes that leads to something else & knowledge gets shared and I would like that. And for me, that's one of the great things about Scubaboard - the exchange of ideas.

From the above posts re rebreathers, it seems that has been achieved. Although I have to say that I have NO idea of what the rebreather posters are talking about (it really is "Greek to me"), I can at least see that they are exchanging ideas about how you dive with them. To me, that can only be a good thing.

And although I did not have the privilege of knowing Mr. Duffin, I like to think that he's up there watching all these exchanges and glad that at least something good has come out of his sad death.

R.I.P. Pete Duffin

Buoyancy may have been an issue. While the issue may have been rebreather-specific in this incident, you can still take from it that buoyancy should always be on your mind, especially on deeper dives such as the one here. Check your dump valve(s), inflator, wing/cell integrity, weight system regularly. Think about what you would do if your wing doesn't inflate at depth, or (perhaps worse) inflates uncontrollably at depth. Are you prepared to deal with buoyancy issues and malfunctions? How often do you practice skills related to these issues?

Depth may also have been an issue. Whether rebreather-specific or not, depth affects all divers. We're all taught to monitor our decompression limits. Nitrox divers are taught the pros and cons of diving enriched air, and the importance of not exceeding maximum depths for the percentage of oxygen in their mix. Less attention is given to narcosis. I think part of the reason for this is because you can't easily measure narcosis, or the depth in which it starts and ends. In fact, I can do the same dive on the same day, to the same depths, and have different levels of narcosis just from the amount of exertion being slightly different. Many divers have told me that they are not affected by narcosis, or that narcosis doesn't affect them until they reach x depth. They're fooling themselves. Any emergency or issue you have to manage while diving, will be more difficult to manage the deeper you are underwater.

 

[cmalinowski]

<snip>...
... is because you can't easily measure narcosis, or the depth in which it starts and ends. ...<snip>

True, but you can make some easy assumptions and extrapolate. I, and the people I dive with, assume that both O2 and Nitrogen are narcotic and that you should have an equivalent narcotic depth (END) or 100'. You use helium to offset since it is non-narcotic (or, actually, has a very limited narcotic effect). Some people do the assumption with just nitrogen being a narcotic gas... Not my style, but it's at least better than ignoring narcotic effect of gasses all together.

All that said, this individual sounds like someone who understood END and narcosis. Not sure that it plays into this accident, but it's always a good point to make... especially for those that think that they are immune to narcosis.

NOTE: I don't want to turn this into a "narcosis does/doesn't affect me" thread. Please start another if you think it is that important... or dig up an old one.

And, I knew someone who felt very narc'd at 80'. Different people. Different effects. I don't believe in "no" effects, but 80' is like a cheap date. 120-130 like an old drunk I suppose

 

[Whitewatermike]

But I must add something. Earlier in this thread, a request was made to stop posting and speculating. And I posted in reply that had this happened to me, I would want people to talk about it and even speculate - because sometimes that leads to something else & knowledge gets shared and I would like that. And for me, that's one of the great things about Scubaboard - the exchange of ideas.

I appreciate your kind words regarding Pete. If you read the posts closely it was requested that details, which were presumably not yet available to the public, not be released here just hours after Pete went missing and family had not been notified. Somebody had already labeled him the 8th fatality on the Oriskany before we had even got back to our rooms that evening. Nobody involved was trying to suppress any information, but at the time there was really no information available for any substantive analysis or discussion. As many of Pete's friends read this forum and knew we were on this trip, it wasn't how we wanted them to find out, especially when nobody, including us, knew what exactly had happened.

 

[jkaterenchuk]

I appreciate your kind words regarding Pete. If you read the posts closely it was requested that details, which were presumably not yet available to the public, not be released here just hours after Pete went missing and family had not been notified. Somebody had already labeled him the 8th fatality on the Oriskany before we had even got back to our rooms that evening. Nobody involved was trying to suppress any information, but at the time there was really no information available for any substantive analysis or discussion. As many of Pete's friends read this forum and knew we were on this trip, it wasn't how we wanted them to find out, especially when nobody, including us, knew what exactly had happened.

Fair enough statement but has the situation changed now and details can/will/have been released regard his specific gear configuration and state of gear, gases, computer etc from the recover team, recover diver and the direct divers involved with the group whom usually get some of this information verbally?

A medical determination will be release when determined and in most cases tells little of benefit to divers.
If the gear post dive was taken by the authorities then most likely will sit somewhere in storage for a extended period of time and may never get looked over by someone qualified to evaluate its condition and contribution to the accident if any. And then if they do evaluate it their report would most likely never be released to the dive community at large.

John

 

[Whitewatermike]

He was recovered on Tuesday. To my knowledge, no further details have been released formally. Very little information, otherwise, has been conveyed regarding the configuration and condition of his gear.

 

[melduffin]

To all the people involved in the search and recovery of Peter Duffin,

We would like to thank you for all your efforts in finding our Dad. We have watched this thread and several others in the past week and it has helped us to understand what may have happened to him. We hope these discussions continue to help prevent accidents in the future.

He was doing something he loved and hopefully this doesn't put people off doing something they enjoy.

Thank you

Mel and Chris Duffin
East Yorkshire, England

 

[Rick Murchison]

Please note the memorial thread for Peter is in the Passings forum.
Here is the link.

 

[Firefishvideo]

To all the people involved in the search and recovery of Peter Duffin,

We would like to thank you for all your efforts in finding our Dad. We have watched this thread and several others in the past week and it has helped us to understand what may have happened to him. We hope these discussions continue to help prevent accidents in the future.

He was doing something he loved and hopefully this doesn't put people off doing something they enjoy.

Thank you

Mel and Chris Duffin
East Yorkshire, England

I'm glad about the recovery, and that you have -so far had a positive experience with the forums, but I would NEVER want my family to watch the forums if I were to pass.
This thread has gone well, but many in the past were just not something the family should have seen. There is a high probablility that what you will find here iS not fact, and the opinions are based on hazy information.
Do yourself and your family a favor and don't dwell on the forums. Sorry for your loss. Best Wishes.