San Diego Dive Fatality 9-29-09

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I find it interesting the omission any information on the divers buddy.

It is not clear if he was solo or his buddy did not assist / could not assist.

A good buddy next to him could have saved him despite his mistakes and lack of assistance from a DM. IMO a buddy next to you can be much more valuable than a DM on the boat.

 

[DandyDon]

I find it interesting the omission any information on the divers buddy.

It is not clear if he was solo or his buddy did not assist / could not assist.

A good buddy next to him could have saved him despite his mistakes and lack of assistance from a DM. IMO a buddy next to you can be much more valuable than a DM on the boat.

Yep. Two of the three SoCalf dive Ops I've dived with did not require buddy pairs to leave the boat, while ScubaLuv did - like I said, their job being to provide transport & support.

Buddy pair failure or omission seems very common in these death threads, but training is not the charter's job; divers are supposed to know that part when they board.

 

[Leejnd]

Speaking of interesting...I just discovered that ALL of the comments on that article on the CBS8 link have been removed! So whoever Pro Diver was, all of his shocking accusations are now gone from cyberspace. For anyone who didn't see it - there was a lot of damaging and inflammatory stuff about the dive op in general, and the owner of the dive op in particular - past transgressions, violations, bad business dealings, not paying taxes, etc. etc. I did not copy any of that over here...all I copied over was his version of how the incident played out. That's at the bottom of page 8 of this thread.

 

[ItsBruce]

There is no law or regulation, but it is standard of practice in the community.

That is exactly what I thought. Thanks.

 

[stefo2]

Speaking of interesting...I just discovered that ALL of the comments on that article on the CBS8 link have been removed!

That is indeed interesting, good job that you copied the part that I found most interesting:

Once at the surface he made his way to the back of the dive boat to get assistance. He then went on to remove his scuba unit under the supervision of a non-certified divemaster. He was never told to remove his weight belt first. Once his scuba gear was off he began to sink. He was wearing a 3mm wetsuit in 68 degree water which is actually too thin for this climate. He was weighted for a 7mm wetsuit. Once he began to sink the person on board to supervise, Robert Eills, attempted to grab Mr Forchione and hold him above the surface. He was not able to hang on very long and Mr Forchione never released his weight belt nor was he instructed to do so. As a result, Mr. Forchione sank to the bottom of the ocean and was left there until medical personel arrived.

The only three people who could possibly know these details would be the diseased diver, the person on the boat supervising, or some anonymous witness who was close enough to observe and overhear, but didn't assist.

I know I am repeating myself, but I really wish there was somebody here, anywhere, who was actually there that day and has some more precise info. I find this whole scenario very disturbing and I almost hope that "Pro Diver" made up these details.

 

[jridg]

Speaking of interesting...I just discovered that ALL of the comments on that article on the CBS8 link have been removed! So whoever Pro Diver was, all of his shocking accusations are now gone from cyberspace. For anyone who didn't see it - there was a lot of damaging and inflammatory stuff about the dive op in general, and the owner of the dive op in particular - past transgressions, violations, bad business dealings, not paying taxes, etc. etc. I did not copy any of that over here...all I copied over was his version of how the incident played out. That's at the bottom of page 8 of this thread.

I still see the comments. - perhaps they were updating the site.

I have done business with DCI in the past - I have even been a DM for them in the past. Please note that I am saying in the past. That's all I really want to say about it as I think all that needs to be said has been. We now have to wait and see how this falls out.

I will say that I am not surprised - although I am very saddened by the events.

 

[Teamcasa]

Just one question - Was the guy on deck really a Dive Master or just a simple deck hand that did the best he could?

Well, one more question - Where was the unfortunate divers buddy?

 

[Cave Diver]

That's at the bottom of page 8 of this thread.

Consider referencing a post # rather than page #. Pages vary depending on individual preferences and settings.

 

[Leejnd]

I still see the comments. - perhaps they were updating the site.

I just checked, and sure 'nuff, they're all there now! Strange. You could be right about updating the site or some such thing.

Consider referencing a post # rather than page #. Pages vary depending on individual preferences and settings.

Good point. The link is in post #80.

 

[Leejnd]

There is no law or regulation, but it is standard of practice in the community.

Okay, good to know. This will remind me to be sure that any boat I go out on DOES have a DM. I am NOT rescue-trained (yet) and I sure wouldn't want to find myself in the situation of feeling like I have to jump in to rescue a diver that I don't know. If it was that or let the dude drown, naturally I'd do it - but I'd rather not put my own life in jeopardy, and risk leaving my kids without a mother, for a stranger that just happened to book the same dive boat as me.

This also brings up an interesting question about this incident. Assuming that what Pro Diver said is true (and this is all pure speculation, because it could all be balderdash), even if carrying a certified DM isn't a law or regulation, just the fact that it's the "standard of practice" among local dive ops could put that dive op at risk of being judged negligent for this incident. Caveat - I'm no lawyer - and this is strictly blathering and opining...I'm just curious. As others have noted, it would be REALLY good to have someone with actual knowledge of the case come in here and provide some answers. But we may never get that.