Fatality at Jersey Island

[gianaameri]

It did, in fact, meet EN14143. According to the manufacturer and independent qualifier.

HSL and the Coroner think differently when they say:

• The rebreather did not comply with clause 5.1 of BS EN 14143: 2013 or BS EN 14143: 2003, which states:

“It shall not be possible to assemble or combine the components or parts in such a way that it can affect the safe operation and safe use of the apparatus, e.g. by incorrect connection of the hoses to the breathing circuit.”

After seeing what HIGHwing posted, and it fooled him at least initially, I'd tend to believe more the Coroner and HSL, but I'll keep my mind open in case Hollis finds the cause to be "something else" - and this we will find out from the Hollis Safety Notice.

Not everybody reads Scubaboard and even then only the manufacturer can issue the Safety Notice and set things clear and straight.

---------- Post added December 18th, 2014 at 05:25 PM ----------

Your job as a CC diver is to enjoy your dive while fighting off your untimely demise.

Guess who will win in the end...

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I think we can help Hollis out by drafting a Safety Notice that would, if followed, prevent this kind of accident from ever occurring again:

ATTENTION P2 DIVERS: When we said do all the checks before diving the unit, we really meant do ALL the checks BEFORE diving the unit - and ONLY dive it then if it PASSED them ALL. Seriously. We mean it. Like, for real, you know? OK? Ok!

 

[rongoodman]

From everything I've read, I would not expect the pre-breath to show a problem with CO2. I do it to confirm that the unit can hold a set point. I look forward to the day when the technology is available for accurate CO2 monitoring in my Prism 2, but it isn't there yet.

 

[nm7sp]

I think we can help Hollis out by drafting a Safety Notice that would, if followed, prevent this kind of accident from ever occurring again:

ATTENTION P2 DIVERS: When we said do all the checks before diving the unit, we really meant do ALL the checks BEFORE diving the unit - and ONLY dive it then if it PASSED them ALL. Seriously. We mean it. Like, for real, you know? OK? Ok!

Paraphrasing from the book "Destination disaster"

The Douglas DC6 had a design problem whereby if a lever was pushed the wrong way then the lift dumpers could be activated
during flight and the plane would crash.

Needless to say, this happened. Douglas' answer was to put a sign near the lever saying "Do not operate the lift dumpers
during flight". The authors of the book commented "this notice may just as usefully said, please do not crash this airplane."

Also, needless to say, another couple of DC6 crashed due to this same problem before Douglas were finally forced to design a
simple locking mechanism that prevented activation during flight.

I'd bet that there are many people at Hollis that are keen to recall the units and put a left hand thread on one side but
I'd bet that their lawyers won't let them, until, of course, there are a few more occurrences.

 

[gianaameri]

Paraphrasing from the book "Destination disaster"

The Douglas DC6 had a design problem whereby if a lever was pushed the wrong way then the lift dumpers could be activated
during flight and the plane would crash.

Needless to say, this happened. Douglas' answer was to put a sign near the lever saying "Do not operate the lift dumpers
during flight". The authors of the book commented "this notice may just as usefully said, please do not crash this airplane."

Also, needless to say, another couple of DC6 crashed due to this same problem before Douglas were finally forced to design a
simple locking mechanism that prevented activation during flight.

I'd bet that there are many people at Hollis that are keen to recall the units and put a left hand thread on one side but
I'd bet that their lawyers won't let them, until, of course, there are a few more occurrences.

Royal Air Force Nimrod XV230 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

U.K. Trading Standards is involved as well (according to what Omisson posted), but trust me - they are useless (at least in putting the consumer interest ahead of protecting lucrative U.K. business and local tax revenues and political "pork belly" arrangements, plus they do what they are told from "high above").

Equally, there have been not a few cover-ups where authorities "high above" carry responsibility for what happens down below (as per the above link to continue on the theme of the analogies with the aviation industry and this and maybe other rebreather fatalities).

 

[gianaameri]

Rebreather Fatalities | DIVER magazine

 

[descent]

Rebreather Fatalities | DIVER magazine author Dr. David Sawatzky says
" ... Increasing the pO2 during decompression at the end of a rebreather dive is a VERY bad thing to do.
The body has been exposed to high levels of O2 for the entire dive and is already at risk of an O2 seizure. ... "

Accelerated decompression is "VERY bad"?

I don't know how much credibility I want to grant this fellow. He and his editor could be a little more specific. His generalization is overly broad.

---------- Post added January 9th, 2015 at 11:48 AM ----------

... and yet the author clearly knows a great deal about elevated ppO2 in divers: Oxygen Toxicity - How Does It Occur? (diverite.com)

Strange.

 

[wedivebc]

Accelerated decompression is "VERY bad"?

I don't know how much credibility I want to grant this fellow. He and his editor could be a little more specific. His generalization is overly broad.

---------- Post added January 9th, 2015 at 11:48 AM ----------

... and yet the author clearly knows a great deal about elevated ppO2 in divers: Oxygen Toxicity - How Does It Occur? (diverite.com)

Strange.

There are some who believe that spiking PO2 at the end of the dive when O2 clock is higher is not a good thing. Dr Sawatzky is hardly alone in that camp. I do spike it since I rarely get above 50% CNS clock but would be less inclined the higher I got.

 

[gobfish1]

Accelerated decompression is "VERY bad"

lol

 

[KevinNM]

Accelerated decompression is "VERY bad"

I'm not going to claim any expertise to determine how valid this is or isn't, but he goes into detail as to exactly why he says that here: Oxygen Toxicity and CCR Diving