Drowned Rebreather diver hadn't turned equipment on

[almitywife]

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

 

[String]

Doesnt say wasnt turned on, it says "failed to turn it on properly".

That to me means he only partially followed the rigid checklist provided and skipped a step/stage so not as simplistic as it seems. The checklist is long, detailed and takes time. People do cut corners with it.

There've been incidents here of people failing to turn the O2 cylinder on etc which would probably fit in that category.

Being sent to the UK would hint at it being an inspiration or evolution used as AP are based there.

 

[Warren_L]

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.

If you don't follow proper protocol, anything can happen. But the way that I was trained, going through the startup procedure, it steps you through turning on your oxygen, diluent, checking your bailout, doing a calibration, and various system tests. Plus pre-breathing to make sure your scrubber is reacting and that your controllers are working and monitoring the right ppo2. If you do this, the chances of this happening are zero.

Now battery bounce and other issues might occur, and are risks, but there are protocols to deal with this too.

 

[wedivebc]

When I dove a homemade (well modified anyway) rebreather there was very little safety net. I had little in the way of electronic to tell me if anything was wrong so I was super vigilant with every portion of my set-up/ dive/ post-dive. The only problem I had with it was if anything went the slightest bit wrong I would thumb the dive and live to dive another day.
Now I have a rebreather that is nearly bulletproof which will withstand anything short of Seatac TSA and I find myself getting less vigilant. This fatality has been a wake-up call to me about the dangers of complacency.

 

[Mr.X]

Very sad to know a RB diver died from 'possibly' something as simple as conducting a proper pre-dive check.

This has occurred several times in the past and it points to a failure in the training process prior and after. Wet switches are certainly an added safety factor, but foremost is a rigid personal adherence to pre-dive protocols. One of the saddest involved a Nobel prize winner with his Cis-Lunar. He did not turn on his off-board O2 switch.

Personally, I do know that some RB divers get complacent about checks after the first, or second dive. They know the RB is working and sometimes in between the S.I. they turn of electronics, gas etc. Sometimes the rush to beat people into the water, or busying about may contribute to deletion of the steps.

Typically, I am almost always the last to get into the water. I take as long as I need with the kit once it's strapped to my shoulders. Most boat captains with OC clients tend to leave me alone vs. hurrying me on. I wouldn't have it any other way. There is far too much that can go wrong and best to catch it at the surface.


X


p.s. This rushing about business can be truly dangerous. A diver I knew (a nice guy, sloppy diver) went into the water with full twins with his valves off, bailout off and sank to the bottom like a stone. No gas to inflate BC, breathe or equalize. I feel so bad for him.

 

[crosing]

I wonder about the subjectivity of the equipment manufacturer. Isn't it in their best interest to blame it on the diver?

Are rebreathers so complex and specialized that they can't get an independent inspector to determine what went wrong?

 

[dhampton82]

X


p.s. This rushing about business can be truly dangerous. A diver I knew (a nice guy, sloppy diver) went into the water with full twins with his valves off, bailout off and sank to the bottom like a stone. No gas to inflate BC, breathe or equalize. I feel so bad for him.

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

 

[empressdiver]

In any given area there are relatively few rebreather divers, and even fewer well-respected RB instructors diving with the particular RB model used by the accident victim to provide expert opinion. At that level, the rebreather instructors usually have business ties to the RB manufacturer or distributor.

Typically, the instructor is certified only on that particular RB and a student taking a course is buying that model of RB from the manufacturer and, apart from basic theory, only gets instruction and certification on that particular RB model. This is unlike OC training courses where it doesn't matter which regulator you use. So, as a result of this industry setup, the RB instructor expert may not have complete independence.

 

[String]

I wonder about the subjectivity of the equipment manufacturer. Isn't it in their best interest to blame it on the diver?

Are rebreathers so complex and specialized that they can't get an independent inspector to determine what went wrong?

Supervised by the HSE and coroner the manufacturer doesnt have the the option of bias it its findings. Its not a closed process that only they perform.

 

[String]

Because I am a new diver and I almost always forget to turn on my valve before getting in the water.

That hints to me at a total lack of any form of buddy check before getting in the water.