Virginian diver dead at 190 feet - Roaring River State Park, Missouri

[Whitrzac]

This thought about gas analysis and labeling is, I believe, sorely misplaced as it relates to this tragedy. The newspaper reporter simply doesn‘t understand the intricacies.

Eric was on a his closed-circuit rebreather and appeared to have an oxygen toxicity event. If you understand rebreathers you will know there are a few ways this could have occurred. I don't know which of those possibilities lead to that apparent event. Perhaps we will in the future.

The reporter has been covering the team for most of their dives. While not a technical diver theyre familiar with the equipment. Its safe to assum it was a wrong dill or bailout.

Gus of dive talk had a near miss on the roaring river project as well when he incorrectly hooked up his 21% bailout as his diluent instead of his trimix and had descended to 208ft. He had some pretty serious issues with narcosis, a ppO2 of 1.7 and team separation issue.

How do you make it that deep without realizing something is off?

 

[Manatee Diver]

Gus of dive talk had a near miss on the roaring river project as well when he incorrectly hooked up his 21% bailout as his diluent instead of his trimix and had descended to 208ft. He had some pretty serious issues with narcosis, a ppO2 of 1.7 and team separation issue.

With all the CCRs with off board dil, are their formal procedures for switching/hooking up? Sort of like how I was taught to do the full gas switch procedure for a stage bottle even on the surface.

 

[Manatee Diver]

wow... How do you make it that deep without realizing something is off?

Because they aren't that experienced. They have maybe a year more experience than I do, and I certainly don't think I am remotely ready for such an extreme cave like that.

 

[grantctobin]

With all the CCRs with off board dil, are their formal procedures for switching/hooking up? Sort of like how I was taught to do the full gas switch procedure for a stage bottle even on the surface.

Switching off-board dils is (or should be) an identical procedure to your stage bottle, as should the initial connection, just with a QC6 or inflator whip rather than a second stage. I’d add there are an extraordinarily small number of divers and dives being done that need to be switching dils at depth on CCR (pSCR obv different).

 

[hroark2112]

The only reasons you would need to switch your diluent are if you used it all up or if you went deeper than your diluent would allow. With the exception of an equipment failure causing a loss of your diluent, both would be a failure of dove planning IMO.

 

[helodriver87]

The only reasons you would need to switch your diluent are if you used it all up or if you went deeper than your diluent would allow. With the exception of an equipment failure causing a loss of your diluent, both would be a failure of dove planning IMO.

There aren't a ton of routine reasons to offboard dil on CCR. It's mostly done in response to some kind of equipment failure, though I'm sure there are edge cases in more complex dives where it makes sense. The way the article is written, it implies that dil was either too hot or O2 was mistakenly plugged in for dil. Curious to know if he was running a HUD of some sort.

Regardless of the ultimate causal factor(s), analyze your s*** day of, reference your checklist even if you have it memorized, and run a HUD of some sort. Those have been my takeaways from the last few high profile CCR deaths.

 

[crofrog]

With all the CCRs with off board dil, are their formal procedures for switching/hooking up? Sort of like how I was taught to do the full gas switch procedure for a stage bottle even on the surface.

According to his account in the video it was an assembly error.
Sadly it sounds like this was a similar issue, with either incorrectly analyzed / marked tanks or the wrong tank plugged in

 

[Manatee Diver]

There aren't a ton of routine reasons to offboard dil on CCR.

I was under the impression that the Sidewinder is all offboard dil? Or am I using the wrong terminology?

According to his account in the video it was an assembly error.

As in plugging the wrong dil in?

 

[crofrog]

I was under the impression that the Sidewinder is all offboard dil? Or am I using the wrong terminology?



As in plugging the wrong dil in?

 

[Manatee Diver]

@crofrog