Drowning in Lake Norman, NC

[gene1948]

Thanks for the information on the loss of this very respected and well-liked member of the Charlotte area diving community. It sounds that it was most likely a health issue that could not have been avoided and not attributed to equipment failure, and certainly not experience or training. I would like to add my condolences and thoughts for Jackie's family and diving friends in NC.

 

[WetDawg]

Hmmm,

I didn't mean to implicate THIS diver, just noticing the growing trend among rebreather divers to not make it back home. It's very sad and quite puzzling as well.

Puzzling is quite right, this incident and the rebreather incident with Zak Jones (who was universally know as a extremely safe diver and one of the most qualified Instructor Trainers on the planet) do raise some puzzling questions.

We'll just wait and see. Hopefully we will eventually learn something from these tragedies.

 

[PerroneFord]

Wetdawg, that is exactly where I was going. There have been a number of deaths from some people who apparently were "great divers" but it seems using apparently dissimilar equipment. So if it's not the specific gear, then the question comes in where things are breaking down.

 

[webediving]

I just think that is amazing the number of people who are quick to jump to conclusion having little or NO experience in the use of rebreathers. I think that making comments or remarks about a deceased Diver without complete knoledge of what hapened is not only irresponsible, but also disrespectfull to the divers family and to the people that knew him.

My deep condolecens to Family and Friends

 

[sidis8]

does anybody know what kind of rebreather the person was using a SCR, or CCR?

 

[divematt]

I just think that is amazing the number of people who are quick to jump to conclusion having little or NO experience in the use of rebreathers. I think that making comments or remarks about a deceased Diver without complete knoledge of what hapened is not only irresponsible, but also disrespectfull to the divers family and to the people that knew him.

My deep condolencens to Family and Friends

I couldn't agree more with you, word for word. To say "Who's training these guys" is just incredibly insensitive.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

The thing has to do with human physiology and oxygen. The human body's "need to breathe" is almost entirely controlled by carbon dioxide levels in the bloodstream, not oxygen levels. So in diving, as long as CO2 levels are in the normal range, oxygen levels must be monitored cognitively... unless the diver (or a computer/hardware system) is monitoring oxygen levels and ensuring they are safe (not too high or too low), he can end up with either a CNS oxygen toxicity convulsion (too high) or unconsciousness from oxygen deprivation (too low) without any noticeable physiological clues to warn him before it is too late. Either situation can happen with a rebreather if the computer controlled system fails and the diver doesn't catch it, or in the case of some rebreathers if the diver doesn't monitor his oxygen and control it.
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That said, it does not mean that the thing has or had anything at all to do with this particular death.
Rick

Thank you, Rick. I appreciate the information. And yes, I agree that until the autopsy results come back, it's too early to jump to conclusions. When I was flying medevac on Hueys, I got the opportunity to attend the altitude chamber in Okinawa. (they also had a decompression chamber and a couple of flight simulators, too. Very nicely appointed facility!) All of us were sitting in a circle at little desks, with aircraft oxygen masks attached but not over our mouths and noses. We had a bunch of kiddy toys that we were messing with. (i.e. the red and blue ball that you put various yellow blocks in, etc.) They sucked the oxygen out until they were able to simulate flying at 10,000'. The effects of hypoxia were so subtle that 90% of the aviators in the room had no idea that they needed to put their mask on. Even when I slapped my mask on and was telling my buddy, over and over, "Put your mask on! Chuck! Put your mask on!" he didn't, and eventually went into hypoxia-induced spasms and began to lose consciousness. At that point, the instructor gave me the nod and I clapped his mask on his face. When he "returned" he didn't even know that he'd been out. The last thing he remembered was putting the little shapes in the ball with no problem. It's so insidious...

 

[Swan1172]

I just listened to an episode of Pod Diver Radio where Joe Cocozza interviewed Richie Kohler, who has recently begun using a rebreather. Richie made a comment about rebreathers that was very prophetic. He said, "You have to treat a rebreather like you would a girlfriend that cheated on you." In other words, you can never totally trust either one.

 

[cummings66]

I suspect that the number of deaths is low in comparison to "normal" scuba gear and that it's so rare to hear of it that it sticks in the mind, thus the out of place comment made about training. In any sport or activity there are bound to be fatilities, just in some of them it's not very common.

It's sad to hear of any death and even though I do not know the man from Adam, I'm still saddened to hear of his passing because in a way he's family as are the rest of the divers.

 

[Bo Danker]

ANOTHER rebreather death? Who's training these guys?

Maybe you are seeing more accidents where the diver was using a rebreather becuase they are gaining in popularity. Perhaps it is simply an increase in the N-size of the sample. You know there are more traffic accidents now then there were 50 years ago because there are more cars although we know that cars are much safer today than 50 years ago.