Rob Stewart Investigation

[Protondecay123]

To be clear, Sotis was not acting as Stewart's instructor. The court documents show that he had been invited to the dive to act as a safety diver by Stewart's partner Brock Cahill. That may seem like a small point ...

Points well covered by Wookie.

 

[Rosborne]

THIS!!! This statement is critical to the facts in the lawsuit. Sotis was not Stewart's instructor on the fateful dive, he was a safety diver (one of 3 IIRC) who had a different duty of care in a very legal sense.

I am (have been) a safety diver on a number of film shoots. The Diving Safety Officer along with the Safety Divers, as a general rule, have absolute control of the shoot, with the cooperation of the producer and studio. And the studio's insurance company. I no longer carry instructor insurance, I carry a commercial policy for that type of work, and a hefty rider for each shoot. Sometimes for every day of the shoot, depending on what talent is in the water. Now, I've only worked on commercials and documentaries, never on a feature film like Pirates of the Caribbean. Which was shot in a tank in Mexico, because it was far more easily controlled than in the ocean. When the safety diver says "I'll go retrieve the anchor, you stay on the boat", the talent stays on the boat. But the safety diver would never ever ever go retrieve the anchor. That's the job of the vessel crew.

You're right. The legal action is only starting to explore this whole concept. Mostly because of the filings by David Concannon. He was the one who pointed out that if this was a working dive for a film then it was required to adhere to a number of regulations. They didn't. While Sotis was an experienced rebreather diver and instructor, I don't believe he had any experience as a safety diver. The question has been raised, was Sharkwater Productions cutting corners to cut costs. I guess the courts will sort that out.

 

[runsongas]

is there a possibility the third dive was undertaken in order to count it towards finishing the mod 3 class (aka another case of cutting corners)?

 

[Wookie]

is there a possibility the third dive was undertaken in order to count it towards finishing the mod 3 class (aka another case of cutting corners)?

I’d have to go back to my records, but IIRC, Stewart didn’t have the hours on the unit to start mod 3. He may not have had the hours to start mod 2. It’s just been too long to remember. I say I don’t know because I don’t know if he had other units that he had hours on.

 

[The Chairman]

He may not have had the hours to start mod 2.

I don't have access to the "handsets", but the scuttlebutt was that he was renting the Revo from Sotis and didn't own one. Ergo, it appears that his only time on the unit was in class and he did not even have enough experience for module #2, much less #3. I can't tell you how much I learned during that first 100 hours on my own. Problem solving without a dementor backing me up is a real thrill and causes you to really understand the unit and how you could die on it. Always being with an instructor is like painting by numbers and calling yourself an artist. Or assembling an Ikea and calling yourself a craftsman. You're relying on their experience and situational awareness whether you know it or not. It's like a guy still using training wheels thinking he can do the Tour de France. I remember switching tanks and all of a sudden, I couldn't breathe at depth! The problem was soooo simple that I'm embarrassed I didn't catch it on the first plunge. I didn't have enough weight and had no loop to breathe on. I think it was on my third attempt when that light bulb came on. You can overthink a problem just as easy as underthink it, and you really need that experience before you start to really complicate things.

 

[Dogbowl]

years ago we had a court case wear a former student showed up on a dive unexspectantly with his old instructor , he died instructor got sued it was the closest an instructor got to being successfully sued.....it went all the way to the jury .......and that here in Canada one of the hardest country to sue take that for what its worth ....

@abnfrog, would you remember the name of this case, year of decision, and jurisdiction? I’d be interested to read about how Canadian law deals wth this kind of stuff. Thanks!

Of course, I’d also be interested in reading the book in October and the Stewart case when the decision is released but who knows how long that will take!

 

[abnfrog]

it was in barrie court I think it was around 1996-7 ? I was sitting an tdi instructor exam at tdi/sdi Canada HQ in gravenhurst when we were told not guilty by the owner I didn't get all the details but I think the death was in Brockville or Kingston

 

[Dogbowl]

it was in barrie court I think it was around 1996-7 ? I was sitting an tdi instructor exam at tdi/sdi Canada HQ in gravenhurst when we were told not guilty by the owner I didn't get all the details but I think the death was in Brockville or Kingston

Thanks, I will search and see if I can find it.

 

[abnfrog]

as far as I know , it was the closest a law suit ever got against an instructor in Canada

 

[O-ring]

Link to the USCG action against Captain Becky that Wookie referenced. I remember this one well. Dove off the Lindsey a bunch of times with her at the helm.

https://www.uscg.mil/Portals/0/Head...-2013-14_Bryson.pdf?ver=2017-11-01-120938-527