Fatality in Rockport, Ontario - 4/Feb/2006

[*Floater*]

A point about speculation: I agree we should stick to the facts as much as possible, identify the problems we know to have occurred and suggest solutions so that no one reading this thread will make the same mistakes. However, when something is unclear I think some if-then type speculation can also be instructive (especially for new divers) and should not be silenced.

Darkstar already noted:

We also know:
- that diving the Kinghorn from shore on a single 80 is a mistake and that he didn't have the proper equipment for the dive
- that he didn't plan to follow the rule of thirds
- that after getting seperated from his buddy, he didn't search for at most 2 minutes and then surface

I would also add that the following reminders:
- dive a balanced rig
- know your rock bottom
- do your pre-dive checks (a wrench may come in handy)
- monitor your spg even early on during the dive so that you will notice if your gas consumption is higher or lower than expected indicating a possible problem
- carry an smb/spool and signalling devices in case you need to make a controlled, direct emergency ascent
- a spare mask may come in handy (also I prefer nylon mask straps)

The above observations are not to critque the victim. For all I know he did the predive checks, carried all the proper emregency equipment and monitored his spg properly, but given the describtion it's possible that something on that list was ignored and contributed to the accident.

If you feel this speculation is in poor taste then please pm me and I'll delete this post.

 

[Storm]

If you feel this speculation is in poor taste then please pm me and I'll delete this post.

I did not mean to imply in my last post that the all the specualtions relfected in this discussion were in poor taste.

I spoke out because I was once part of a team of first reponders at an accident and can empathize with the recure divers in this case. In that incident we did everything we could but still lost the addicent victum. Dealing with the post trauma emotions was difficult. The self doubt and second guessing took a long time to resolve, and there are still times to this day, and that incident was twenty years ago, when the scene still comes back to haunt me.

I thank God we didnt have to re-live the incident over and over again in a publiç forum as folks who were not there critique every last action we took, (or worse critiquing actions we did not take based solely on speculation, supposition and something soneone read in a book someplace).

Unless you've been in a position of having to deal', first hand, with an accident victum, you cant realize the devastating effect it can have on the people responding to the accident (I mean "you" in the plural, not you in the personal). What is needed here is support for divers who responded to the incident and for their the efforts, not armchair criticism. The former is helpful, the later can be truy hurtful .

Rick

 

[james croft]

Hey, no need to be rude. I still don't understand why the guy didn't dump his weights, inflate his bc and drysuit and make a direct ascent to the surface when he realized that he didn't have enough gas to make the 20 min swim at depth. If it's obvious to you then please just spell it out.

We don't know what happened. A person who finds out he is on empty when he sucks his tank dry is not able to inflate anything. The guys that found him had difficulty with him being heavy even after dumping weights.

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks, Storm - good post. I do not think anyone here intends to criticize the rescuers in the least, but it's good for you to ask for support here. They got mine, for whatever it's worth; if any of my questions or ideas have sounded otherwise, please accept this correction.

I am not a Padi fan, but it's what I had available when I went for my Rescue class - altho the Inst assures me that he'll make it much more than just a card with my pic. The section on Critical Incident Stress reminded me of some things. Did some web searching for more it. Made a copy to email a friend - here is a copy, hope this works...

 

[ItsBruce]

Item 1: No mask, No reg, No air, ... its seems to be more than just an OOA. Maybe OOA with panic.

Item 2: What if there was no such thing as a hypothetical question?

 

[Puffer Fish]

Storm - understand your post, thanks for pointing this out.

 

[vkalia]

generically speaking, Heart attack is the most probable cause of divers dying in situations where they are exerting themselves, physically.

This one is my personal demon. My grandpa died of a hearattack, my pop's had 2. Guess who is in line for one? I try to avoid it by doing cardio, weight, staying in shape, etc. Well, pop's first was despite being uber-fit.

That is why I have a very selfish reason for wanting to learn more from the medical results in incidents like this. Yes, exertion is one factor but are there compounding factors, etc.? Here's keeping my eyes peeled for results from DAN.

Vandit (32, and still a ways to go, but concerned nonetheless)

 

[diverjmd]

Does anyone know of any specific incident where a diver had been found unconscious underwater and still successfully revived?

 

[Scuba_Steve]

Does anyone know of any specific incident where a diver had been found unconscious underwater and still successfully revived?

You mean besides Pufferfish's post to this thread??

http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.p...93&postcount=2

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=21526

 

[thefrog]

Although their plan was not really workable there is no ice cover this year and it is not an overhead dive. It could have been aborted at any time with the only penalty being a long surface swim. The difficulties that lead to the tragedy are not known and could possibly have just as easily occurred if they had decided to dive the wall or conducted practice close to shore. If you had of talked them out of a trip to the Kinghorn and they decided to do the wall instead with the same outcome you would probably be feeling even worse now.

Glenn

Thanks Glenn, I never thought of it that way as my mind has been whurring too much.