Peacock Springs Fatality

[Spectre]

1. They may/may not have had cavern training (but certainly not cave according to the report), so most likely going beyond their training

Peacock III is beyond their training anyway; It's a syphon.

3. May not have been following the line all that well, although there is a line in P3 (or at least i have seen one), however i havent dove that part yet, if anything like the lines out of P1 they are marked at least every 100ft with arrows pointing out.

If you've been in PIII, you know how nasty it is. It definately isn't forgiving like the P1 cavern area.

Peacock Springs SP is set up to only allow certified divers to dive (the rangers are pretty quick on checking cards), so something is amiss here about them being in the water unless they were diving beyond their cavern cert (assuming they had one).

Well, the system isn't foolproof if you want to get around it. If they don't see you, I don't see how the rangers could know exactly how many people were in the vehicle. 3 divers, one cave trained, could probably get away with making it look like there was only one diver in the car, and thus one card on the dashboard...

...but if that's the case, we know have a poster version of why the rules are there in the first place.

 

[simbrooks]

It's kind of an honor system though. The park staff comes through periodically checking for cards on dashes but by then an uncertified diver might allready be in the water.

The staff seem to come by several times an hour, or at least i usually see them a couple of times whilst rigging up - you'd have to be really quick

Also cavern divers are allowed to dive and once in there isn't anything from keeping them from going too far except for their own common sense...which isn't so common of course.

This was what i was eluding to with the possible cavern trained going beyond their limits.

With regard to the line placement i havent been in that system.

 

[simbrooks]

Peacock III is beyond their training anyway; It's a syphon.

If you've been in PIII, you know how nasty it is. It definately isn't forgiving like the P1 cavern area.

Didnt know that, i shall have to investigate next time. I also have to hit Orange Grove one day as well, only done peanut and pothole thus far.

Well, the system isn't foolproof if you want to get around it. If they don't see you, I don't see how the rangers could know exactly how many people were in the vehicle. 3 divers, one cave trained, could probably get away with making it look like there was only one diver in the car, and thus one card on the dashboard...

...but if that's the case, we know have a poster version of why the rules are there in the first place.

No system is foolproof, but they are pretty up on it, like i said, IF you got in quick maybe, but the length of time most people take to gear up, prep and actually get moving they might be around at least once, possibly twice. No kidding on the poster version!

 

[OneBrightGator]

Since it's much more hassle to get into P3 instead of P1 it leads me to believe his buddies were cave certified and that this is possibly not his first cave dive.

 

[Bobby]

There are more facts involved, that have not been released yet, than what has been posted or is in the news article. This is going to get messy and please remember that commenting on unconfirmed statements including media reports could make us wish that we had not made comments so quickly. As soon as the information is released from the ICURR I will post it. Fair enough :06:

Bobby

 

[mossym]

No system is foolproof, but they are pretty up on it, like i said, IF you got in quick maybe, but the length of time most people take to gear up, prep and actually get moving they might be around at least once, possibly twice. No kidding on the poster version!

whatever the system, if you want to get around it you can..if this guy was intent on diving caves withouth the right certification then he was going to anyway..

while this is a good example of why cave certifications are neccesary, there will always be divers who ignore stories lije this and find ways to defeat the system...to their own peril..

 

[MikeFerrara]

There are more facts involved, that have not been released yet, than what has been posted or is in the news article. This is going to get messy and please remember that commenting on unconfirmed statements including media reports could make us wish that we had not made comments so quickly. As soon as the information is released from the ICURR I will post it. Fair enough :06:

Bobby

Why would we wish that we didn't comment? Beside it could be a long time before there's an IUCRR report available and then it usually just describes what the victem was wearing and whether or not they were cave trained.

 

[hermosadive]

Here is the article that ran in the Gainesville Sun today...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
...Cameron said that while diving, Jones told his friends he was low on
air and was leaving the cave. But Jones was eventually found in a
another section of the cave, indicating he got lost trying to swim
out, Cameron said...

Friends - probably. Dive buddies - doesn't sound like it.

 

[Bobby]

I am posting this report with great sadness and trepidation. I ask everyone to remember please that the family and friends of the victim have not yet had time to grieve nor have all of the facts become evident. As with any accident, there are conflicting reports of events. This accident is no exception. I will do my best to report the facts. If it seems that some things have been omitted it is because the eyewitness reports were conflicting or it is not known at this time.

Three people entered Peacock III to do a dive to Henley’s Castle. The victim’s certification level was that of Cavern diver. His gear configuration was consistent with an Intro to Cave level diver (single tank PST E8130 with H-valve); he was also carrying a stage bottle. The three divers were exiting the castle when the victim indicated that he was out of air. One of the buddy’s (Buddy #1) gave him a full stage bottle and they continued out. Buddy # 2 subsequently had a problem and Buddy #1 stopped to help. That was the last time either buddy saw the victim. The victim reportedly swam past his stage bottle and continued to exit the cave.
They continued out of the cave expecting to find him on deco. When he was not there, Buddy #2 went for help and reported a missing diver. Buddy #1 went back into the cave to look for him.
The two recovery divers got in the water as Buddy #1 surfaced and reported that he had found him and told the recovery divers where to look. The victim was found approx. 1300 feet from the entrance.
After exiting Henley’s Castle heading outbound the victim had taken the first jump to the left (no reel deployed). He was located about 300 feet down that tunnel facing outbound completely out of gas.

I understand that there are still several unanswered questions at this time and that this report may cause some new ones. I ask that we be patient and I am confident they will be answered in the near future.

My condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Jones.

Respectfully,

Shelley Orlowski

Sorry for the edit but I did not get the entire report the first time I pasted it. As Shelley stated it will take time for further details and I thank everyone in advance for thier patience and reserve. My condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Jones and all of the people involved with this situation.

Bobby

 

[camaro diver]

I am the victim's brother. As a diver myself I have Questions.
Thank you for your support and condolences, they will be past on
to the family.