Drowned Rebreather diver hadn't turned equipment on

[Mr.X]

First off I am sad to hear about you friend. Second, I am glad that you have posted this. Because I am a new diver and I almost always forget to turn on my valve before getting in the water. Lucky for me, all my diving so far has been in the springs, where I start out in 3' of water and diving with a single AL80. Which usually ends up with me having to stretch back and turning on my valve or getting my g/f to do it for me. And thinking about what a fool I look like. But this post did remind me of how fast (about 25 dives) that complacency has set in and resulted in me skipping parts or most of my pre-dive check. Fortunately, the only thing that has happened so far is me looking like a idiot in front of everyone, but could result in something horrible if I dont start my checks before I do get to make a boat dive. Thanks for sharing X

You're welcome. BTW, thanks for sharing too.

If anything, a pre-dive flight plan ensures that your personal equipment is working before splashing in. On another note it also ensures that crew/personnel has not turned off your gas, or other pieces of equipment during the surface interval. I have had this happen too. This is why I only dive these days with trusted boat captains, crews & buddies I have known for years.

Best diving,

X

 

[jpcpat]

Very sorry to hear about the loss, but thanks for posting.

Rebreathers are very useful gear, and also very complex. As with all life support gear, if it fails, you can die. Checks are key, but sometimes, stuff happens.

A review by the manufacturer is sometimes in order, especially if local authorities are brave enough to admit their lack of expertise, and call in the experts. If, God forbid, something happens to me, I hope the investigators are brave enough for this kind of investigation.

 

[JEScholz]

First off I am sad to hear about you friend. Second, I am glad that you have posted this. Because I am a new diver and I almost always forget to turn on my valve before getting in the water. Lucky for me, all my diving so far has been in the springs, where I start out in 3' of water and diving with a single AL80. Which usually ends up with me having to stretch back and turning on my valve or getting my g/f to do it for me. And thinking about what a fool I look like. But this post did remind me of how fast (about 25 dives) that complacency has set in and resulted in me skipping parts or most of my pre-dive check. Fortunately, the only thing that has happened so far is me looking like a idiot in front of everyone, but could result in something horrible if I dont start my checks before I do get to make a boat dive. Thanks for sharing X

A couple of suggestions for your pre dive check. Put some air in your BC, and take a couple of breaths from your regulator before you hit the water. This is a MUST do on boat dives!

 

[PaulChristenson]

just a blurb that i found today but im curious about the "...said the long delay between Mr Lees' death and the inquest was because the diving equipment was sent to England, where it was manufactured, to be investigated. " bit

im wondering if it could be the inspo involved and how easy is it to go diving and not turn on your equipment like they indicate in this story.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/3907234a6563.html
"A diver who drowned at Ship Cove last year had failed to turn on his oxygen providing rebreather equipment properly."


cheers

If you are curious...check...
http://www.rebreatherworld.com/rebreather-accidents-incidents/8900-diver-death-results.html

 

[Charlie99]

im wondering if it could be the inspo involved and how easy is it to go diving and not turn on your equipment like they indicate in this story.

We've all heard of stories of divers jumping into the water on open circuit scuba with their air turned off. Unfortunately this error is all too common. Fortunately, an open circuit diver quickly discovers this error when he doesn't get anything from the reg after a few breaths

The problem is that a rebreather diver that forgets to turn on his O2 doesn't have that sort of very obvious feedback --- he still gets gas from the mouthpiece, but the FO2 will start going down.

 

[String]

A couple of suggestions for your pre dive check. Put some air in your BC, and take a couple of breaths from your regulator before you hit the water. This is a MUST do on boat dives!

Unless its cold air/water in which case dry-breathing is a very bad idea from a freeflow perspective.

Regardless of water temperature though its a good idea wherever possible to stop at 3m or so on the descent, check gauges while breathing to look for telltale signs of a half opened valve and so on.

 

[almitywife]

hubby was doing a try dive on the optima a couple of weeks ago and im sure the trainer said to him that he has to breath from the unit for a solid minute before he got into the water

i have a thread elswhere about my concerns about hubby getting a rebreather and that and these posts tell me... comes down to being responsible/thorough and following your checklist

 

[Warren_L]

The pre-breathing is to ensure that the scrubber is reacting. This is part of my pre-dive routine and I never deviate from it. Having the discipline to make sure you do all your checks is critical.

 

[almitywife]

did anyone else read the bsac yearly report??

http://www.bsac.org/page/812/technique.htm
July 2006 06/164
A diver was testing a rebreather in a swimming pool after a mouthpiece replacement. Within 2 min underwater his breathing became laboured. He switched to open circuit and then back to closed circuit. He conducted a diluent flush. All seemed correct but then he became breathless again within 1 min. He switched to open circuit and swam into the deep end of the pool. He switched back to closed loop again and very quickly went back to the same problem. He stated that he felt as if he was "breathing through a straw". He switched back to open circuit and left the pool. Shortly afterwards he developed a bad headache. He subsequently discovered that the scrubber cartridge was empty. He had forgotten to re-fill it again after its last use.

 

[Neurolyse]

A closed circuit rebreather is a lot like a twin engine turbo prop. Great machine. You can do a lot with it, but if you don't pay attention, it will fly you into the ground at a high rate of speed. With the additional capability comes more responsibility. On the other hand, although there are more ways to get into trouble with CCR, there are also more ways to get out of trouble as long as you recognize that you are in trouble.