Diving incident at Eagles Nest Sink

[Jack Hammer]

Thank You to all involved with the recovery.

 

[Dsix36]

You assume that they were even alive at the bottom (which might not be the case if their gas was contaminated).

But even if he left after the first missed connection, its a good 30mins to even get a cell phone signal (after he gets out of his gear). Someone has to be ready and able to drive over there. Realistically you are looking at what 4 hours - at a minimum before someone could even splash? 4 hours at 240+ft on a CCR is breaking through almost every scrubber made, nevermind the deco obligation. So this hypothetical rescuer also needs to bring enough deco gas for 2 divers to do 12+ hours of OC deco. Or extra prepped CCRs. And some sort of habitat to avoid freezing to death.

I don't see how anyone could actually deploy to Eagle's in time to find and extract someone alive who's somehow just stuck on the bottom (for hours longer than planned). It would be different if the safety diver could have gotten into the cave.

I remember your long day.

I was trying to say that it might be a longer than expected dive rather than a recovery. They might not be stuck or in trouble at all. It is entirely possible that they are doing deco much deeper than originally planned.

 

[jhnmdahl]

Just reading about the recovery operations involved is a harrowing sobering account in itself. . .

Good informative article & historical archive from Curt Bowen's ADM (p. 28) and a better objective perspective on the challenges of this infamous divesite, especially at the Pit Restriction:
Eagle's Nest Incident (12 June 2004) Recovery Logistics

I think this article illustrates well why people are so interested in knowing the facts - it provides good evidence of what went wrong in a very factual manner, discusses how conditions, procedures, and other factors may have led to the accidents, and has a significant chance of saving a life or two in the future if people read and think about what can be learned from the article.

 

[PfcAJ]

Now Pete, for the sake of, hopefully, a rational discussion, what difference does it make of you figure out why this happened? You already know. 99% of cave accidents fall into 3 basic groups:
1 - Diver Error - including panic, and or diving beyond your training and experience, and many other errors.
2 - Equipment failure
3 - Medical condition

What do we change about anything? You are going to believe that you just cant make the same error that that idiot did. You are going to keep using your equipment, I do not remember any piece of gear being so dangerous that there was not people that keeps using it, even when its called "Yellow Box of Death". And, I am one of the old men that needs to go to the effing gym, and I know it. But, I will drag my fat aged ass and gear to the springs and keep going.

So we have had this trend for several years, and it always winds up being one or a combination of these three things. What exactly do you want to learn?

I disagree with the idea that there's nothing to learn. Its intellectually lazy and really just a slap in the face of those who try to bring the specifics to light. I learn something after every one of these incidents.

Spouting about how there's nothing to learn is right up there with 'close the caves'. Both are overly simplistic and do a disservice to cave divers.

 

[rjack321]

I was trying to say that it might be a longer than expected dive rather than a recovery. They might not be stuck or in trouble at all. It is entirely possible that they are doing deco much deeper than originally planned.

yes 100% agree.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

yes 100% agree.

From my non-technical viewpoint - Plan your dive Dive your plan is often ignored by technical divers? Do technical rebreather or other technical divers often change plans in the water by that magnitude? I thought that was frowned upon?

 

[Richard FDC]

 

[rjack321]

From my non-technical viewpoint - Plan your dive Dive your plan is often ignored by technical divers? Do technical rebreather or other technical divers often change plans in the water by that magnitude? I thought that was frowned upon?

Its a deep cave. Any delay at depth extends out the dive time by a factor of 3x or more.

It wasn't planned but @Dsix36 was delayed in this cave looking for a buddy he thought was lost. On a CCR he was able to stay much longer than if he were on open circuit and given the (grim) alternatives he chose to stay at depth and look longer. His devotion to his buddy and that family is admirable as he stayed just about as long as might be physically possible. That search extended out his dive time by many hours. Thankfully his buddy had actually ascended already and they met up later on deco.

When the plan is completely fubar you have to come up with a new plan. Knowing how long you can stay and search for a lost buddy is part of cave training.

 

[2airishuman]

I would like to thank the recovery divers for their service and to thank @Kevrumbo for the link to the 2004 article.

When accidents are widely reported in the general media, they affect the perceptions my family and friends have of diving. I find it helpful to understand what happened, not only for the lessons it teaches, but so that I can factually address the concerns of lay people who ask about the accident. This accident has already been a source of discussion among casual divers and non-divers around me.

 

[The Chairman]

and just about every social media outlet I follow for a day plus.

That would be FB, here and one other place. So?