Maybe we can look at the concept of a support team from a different angle?
Things like space flight, test pilots and the deep french divers (video above? Or is some other recent thread) involved a very large "support team". The support team was not simply a passive role that people seem to consider the deep dive support divers to be. In these other activities the support team played a very active role well before the attempt was started. They helped define / refine procedures, discuss potential failure points, help decide risk mitigations, provided QA that process and procedures were being followed. An astronaut is simply 1 person in a very large team. They become the star, but they did not accomplish the goal by themselves. They could easily be replaced by a different astronaut.
These deep dives seem to ignore the need for a proper team? Think doctor deep...
Maybe utilizing a proper support team would have detected the Eagles Nest mistakes and stopped (or altered?) that dive?
Otherwise are these deep dives just Russian Roulette using scuba gear?
Hi JoeFriday,
I believe your post nailed it! Your description of a proper support team is right on. A few "safety divers" in the water is not a support team. A proper support team defines the goal of the mission, the scope of the mission, performs risk assessment and formalizes the assessment. It supports the diving operation before, during, and after.
The diver is actually just a team member. A team member who is not controlling the execution of the project.
As to your question regarding Russian Roulette: Yes, I believe performing dives to 330 feet and deeper is Russian Roulette using scuba gear. For most of these dives, the revolver has many more charge holes than a standard six-gun--
the cylinder is very large.
Comparing this type of diving to flying on a commercial jetliner is a huge stretch. An airline traveler is much more likely to get hurt driving to the airport or navigating the parking lot on foot than actually getting hurt in a jetliner. Airline travel is very safe. I was slightly injured while travelling via the airlines--I was hit by a car in the airport parking garage while on foot.
If you are planning to dive to or beyond 330 ft in the future, I am happy for you. It is your chosen avocation. If I were King, you would have no expectation that a PSD, or anyone else, would perform risky dives to recover your body so your family could have a proper funeral.
I donated to a SAR fund for a diver. I decided to donate piecemeal and not go "all-in". After learning of the deviations that this diver had normalized in his own brain, I wished I had saved my money for a better cause. Nice guy, nice family, but he was a gambler.
Disclaimer: I am not a tech diver and don't plan on tech diving per se.
It is your life, risk it however you wish.
M
