leah:
I would criticize and instructor or diver that did such an unsafe dive. An AL80 on a deep dive is pure madness. Knowing that he went on a deep dive with at least 2 guys on AL80's is enough to let me know this guy is unsafe.
And here in lies a problem. With all due respect for Chad's friends and loved ones, he WAS a "diver that did such an unsafe dive" and Chad was one of those "2 guys on AL80's that was unsafe".
I don't say this to be cruel or overly critical of Chad. But it is an important part of the equation that must be acknowledged. Chad, at least as described in this thread, was a diver who was certified and had MANY MANY dives and would have ample opportunity and training to understand that such a dive was indeed "madness" (to use your word). I only say this because this is an inherently risky sport that can be very safe when people foloow the basic tenets of their training and accept responsibility for knowing what they are doing and diving well within their respective training, knowledge and skill.
Most divers will never witness a serious diving accident let alone end up with 2 fatalities on separate incidents. When you start ticking up multiple accidents next to your name when people dive with you, something is seriously wrong. It would be interesting to know how many divers have been hurt diving with this guy that have lived to tell about it. It does not sound like from his reputation that this was a one time mistake. Losing a diver would be enough to make most people change forever.
All true. And the instructor involved should definitely be investigated and sanctioned should the stories posted here about his reputation be true. And this is an important illustration of what all divers need to be aware of and handle for themselves. You need to pay attention to those you buddy up and dive with and assess their abilities and judgement in relation to your own. You can't let someone you sense is unsafe, overly capriciously or reckless influence your decisions on how you dive. I have been skiing since I was a young kid and I see a parallel between something that was drummed into my head early on in that sport and what is even more critical in the sport of diving - don't let ANYONE talk you into doing a run that you don't feel comfortable with or prepared to do. In skiing at least if you find yourself at the top of a run that is just way over your head, you can ditch the skiis and inch your way down. But in diving that isn't an option - and being properly equipped is even more critical. The point being, undertaking a dive in which one is not correctly changed and equipped for is infinitely more dangerous and the margin for error is a minute fraction of what it is compared to anything else we do in life.
Again, I don't say this to put any needless or thoughtless blame on Chad, I just think it is critically important that divers realize they are solely and directly responsible for their decisions on whether to conduct any particular dive or not - regardless of who suggests they do so or why.
Once one becomes a diver, one needs to start becoming aware of the divers you chose to dive with and whether they are people one SHOULD dive with. I can't tell you how many times I have been on local dive boats or travels around the world and been in situations where it has been very evident that I am around people who make poor decisions and are a danger to themeslves and possibly others. I have always made it a policy to simply miss a dive rather than put myself in a compromoised position by diving with such people. And that was a policy I made walkibg off the boat after my certifications dives.
Foolish wreckless divers are everywhere. There are some fool divers in my area that brag if they could just find the gps numbers to the old hotel at the bottom of the lake (300+) that they could do a bounce on a single set of doubles.
No doubt such fools exist. And that is why it is important to avoid diving with such people whether they carry an instructor credential or not. Someone carrying an Instructor designation can't make an incredibly unsafe dive safe simply by virtue of their designation.
Anyway, for those of you who say don't criticize the instructor until we know all the facts, if you will just give me a number of how many hurt and dead divers one can chalk up before we can say something bad about you or them. We have reports about two bodies in the water, but some don't feel we can say anything bad yet. So if two isn't enough, can we say what we think about him with 3, 4, or do we need to get even higher???
There's no doubt this instructor needs to have his professional carreer ended. But I think it is extremely important that people realize such people exist in this sport unfortunately (though from my experience they are VERY rare) and thus peopel need to make sure that they follow their training, instincts and common sense and not let anyone tell them to engage in something that is clearly unsafe. Obviously such people have no regard for their own safety, so you can't count on them to watch out for your own, and thus they should be avoided.
