Training Scuba Ranch Incident Report

[boulderjohn]

The potential benefit of increasing the ratio is based on the underlying premise that the professionals involved would respond to an emergency in an appropriate manner

The benefit of increasing the ratio is that someone would SEE an issue and be able to act before it became a problem.

 

[jblittle]

Thanks for the added information. NO, I would NOT imagine that all would be ok. I can imagine all the things that can go wrong.

And yes we take risks, and yes we allow children to take risks, but when there is a risk of a fatality AND the parent CAN materially mitigate that risk by their presence, then they probably should do so. Perhaps that is something that can be learned from this horrible tragedy.

Also, simply increasing the instructor/professional to student ratio would in this case, probably NOT made any difference. The potential benefit of increasing the ratio is based on the underlying premise that the professionals involved would respond to an emergency in an appropriate manner. From what I have heard of this accident, they have clearly demonstrated that they would not respond in a reasonable manner.

In other words, if they (all) were too "stupid" to start looking for her when she was confirmed to be missing, how the hell can you assume they would diligently watch her - when the stakes were much lower?

One clown or 5, it still was obviously a circus.

Again... could've, should've, would've. Believe me, the parents are acutely aware of how they could've made different decisions. They live with them every day. Your victim blaming is only scratching the surface of what the parents think and feel about their decisions that day. But, I'm saying, the average person (her father wasn't an avid diver.... he was a very recreational diver... not having been on a dive in many years if I'm correct)... would normally assume that this environment would be safe. After all, people of many ages get certified in OW and survive all the time. Both of her parents paid to be in attendance at that location, even though they weren't in the water. Most people trust that the professionals are there do do their job in keeping the students safe. It sounds like you aren't most people. It sounds like you are extremely cautious, which has probably served you well. Those choices that the Harrisons made can't be undone. They know that truth and have to suffer with it every second of every day. It just isn't helpful at this time. What can be helpful is having the authorities come forward and do their job to give the family the information they deserve.

 

[JMarc]

I would never let my child of that age NOT dive with me on an open water certification dive.

Relatives, SO, friends,... of student can be such a real pain when teaching (sometimes just by the distraction they generate by their presence, sometimes by their interference) that having them absent when they aren't students as well is IMO a very reasonable policy.

 

[paddydiver]

Yeah, enough of the I would have, they should have...This is 100% on the shop and Instructor. They trusted a professional outfit to take care of their kid, and that outfit failed miserably and disastrously. Too may Shops/Instructors ignore the fact that student to Instructor ratios are MAXIMUMS. Its up to the discretion of the Instructor to decide what is safe.

 

[tursiops]

Its up to the discretion of the Instructor to decide what is safe.

And it is BoulderJohn's point that the shop usually dictates what the Instructor must do, or be fired.
I worked as an Independent Instructor (not possible with all agencies) and kept the ratios low...not as high as possible. You often have to charge more to afford to do that.

 

[CG43]

Its up to the discretion of the Instructor to decide what is safe.

When I was between 17 and 20 years old, I, together with other recreational divers, conducted diving training and dives with beginners for a shop. We gained minor financial benefits from it but were in no way financially dependent. We were also not covered by any insurance. At that time, to my knowledge, there were no rules from the VDST in Germany regarding how many beginners a diving instructor could dive with and under what conditions. So we had no rules to hide behind.
For my colleagues and me, there was something like a fixed rule: For a simple dive, one diver and one student, and for a challenging dive, two divers and one student. The fact that we never had accidents or near-accidents is largely thanks to this rule. A shop that pays its employees properly can hardly survive with this ratio. But it remains a fact that even the best instructor cannot divide himself and it is not possible for him to take care of two serious cases at the same time.
Insofar as this circumstance is not adequately taken into account, all those who deceive—agencies, shops, and instructors who do not properly inform their clients—are guilty.
By guilty I do not mean so much what a court decides. We are humans and also judge our own actions.
For most people, it should be easier to deceive a court than themselves.

 

[mcohen1021]

From reading previous post, it appears the computer of dive master who was assisting with the class was lost several weeks after the tragic event.

If true then the girls computer should be available?

Something doesnt add up here

 

[johndiver999]

Again... could've, should've, would've. Believe me, the parents are acutely aware of how they could've made different decisions. They live with them every day. Your victim blaming is only scratching the surface of what the parents think and feel about their decisions that day. But, I'm saying, the average person (her father wasn't an avid diver.... he was a very recreational diver... not having been on a dive in many years if I'm correct)... would normally assume that this environment would be safe. After all, people of many ages get certified in OW and survive all the time. Both of her parents paid to be in attendance at that location, even though they weren't in the water. Most people trust that the professionals are there do do their job in keeping the students safe. It sounds like you aren't most people. It sounds like you are extremely cautious, which has probably served you well. Those choices that the Harrisons made can't be undone. They know that truth and have to suffer with it every second of every day. It just isn't helpful at this time. What can be helpful is having the authorities come forward and do their job to give the family the information they deserve.

The parents being there just adds to the horror. If the father didn't feel confident in his own abilities, then I can understand why he would not have dove that day, my comments were intended to primarily convey what I would have done.

Yeah, calling scuba instructors "professionals" never did sit well with me. They don't need a high school diploma; they can get trained and certified in a few to several weeks and they are paid less than the guys who pick up my garbage. I've seen WAY TOO MUCH to extend them (as a group) unverified trust.

Obviously some instructors are great, but certainly not all.

What kind of instructor would pair up the two youngest students (one of which was a pre-teen) for the open water dives?

I've seen or been in proximity to several dive accidents and some of them were fatalities. Once you drag a limp body out of the water, it alters your entire perspective about diving and safety. And when the family is there wailing and crying, you want to vomit.

I pray for the parents.

 

[jblittle]

Please keep watching Dylan’s story on Fox 4 news. There will be more segments at 5pm and 6:30pm.

 

[scubadada]

...Yeah, calling scuba instructors "professionals" never did sit well with me. They don't need a high school diploma; they can get trained and certified in a few to several weeks and they are paid less than the guys who pick up my garbage. I've seen WAY TOO MUCH to extend them (as a group) unverified trust...