Teen fatality - Skaneateles Lake, New York

[tracydr]

30 feet visibility is pretty amazing for a freshwater lake! I wish we had that around here!

 

[RochesterUE]

30 feet visibility is pretty amazing for a freshwater lake! I wish we had that around here!

In the winter I've seen it approach 100 feet. Its a great lake for diving.

 

[RochesterUE]

This picture is a screen-capture of a video I was taking of Brandon and Carl. This was taken within a couple of minutes of the accident. Brandon seemed to be enjoying himself, having a good time, and in no distress.

 

[flots am]

There are many questions that are left unanswered. What caused Brandon to panic and bolt to the surface? Did his mask come off and cause him to panic, or did his mask come off as a result of panicking? Why, if I was within 5 feet of him, didn’t come to me for assistance?

That's a chicken-or-egg type thing and while it would be nice to know, it doesn't really matter. Panic from stress can result in equipment rejection, and bolting; equipment loss or malfunction can result in panic and bolting. It's unlikely he had a cold water freeflow, since it takes more than a minute to drain the tank and the bubbles aren't subtle.

Whatever happened, it's nearly certain that panic was the actual problem, since anything else would have involved a buddy and a normal ascent.

If you're not watching continuously, ready for a problem and are within really easy grabbing distance, it's impossible to stop a panicked ascent. You simply can't safely catch up to a diver who's using the "elevator button", since it requires far exceeding his already-maximum ascent rate. If you had caught up to him, chances are really good that this would have been a double-fatality.

Thanks for sharing and sorry to hear about Brandon.

flots.

 

[Beiji]

Teddy, thank you for posting your report. What a terrible accident. I'm so sorry for Brandon's family and friends and for you and Carl. Were either of you hurt from the rapid ascent?

Regarding the slope of Skaneateles, Teddy is right. It varies. I dive mostly from Sevey's Boatyard, and you can go from 10 ft to 100 ft fairly quickly. If you don't have good control you can "slide" down the slope. In the winter we dive at Mandana where it's flat very far out, and you have to work to get below 20 ft.

 

[RochesterUE]

Teddy, thank you for posting your report. What a terrible accident. I'm so sorry for Brandon's family and friends and for you and Carl. Were either of you hurt from the rapid ascent?

Regarding the slope of Skaneateles, Teddy is right. It varies. I dive mostly from Sevey's Boatyard, and you can go from 10 ft to 100 ft fairly quickly. If you don't have good control you can "slide" down the slope. In the winter we dive at Mandana where it's flat very far out, and you have to work to get below 20 ft.

I was not hurt from our rapid ascent. Carl spent some time in the decompression chamber that evening.

 

[CoralSeaMan]

I notice the victim was wearing a hood. Was there any sign he was getting a lot of water in the mask?

 

[RochesterUE]

I notice the victim was wearing a hood. Was there any sign he was getting a lot of water in the mask?

Not that I noticed. He made no comments about it, and during the dive I don't remember observing any behavior (mask clearing etc) that would point towards a mask-hood-seal issue. Of course, its always a possibility.

 

[oncor23]

So far the investigation has not yielded any “smoking guns” as to a cause. All of the equipment was inspected and found to be functional.

Was the mask recovered? If so...and in good condition, then some other issue may have precipitated a panic that caused him to rip off the mask.

 

[Beiji]

Teddy, I hope you don't mind a couple more questions. You said Brandon was using his mother's gear, and I was wondering: Did the BC fit Brandon, and had the regs been serviced in the last year? Had he used his mother's equipment before, or had he rented equipment? Was he wearing his mother's wetsuit?