I too am with Chris on this one. The two divers have died. That is a fact that cannot be changed. The families have my deepest sympathy and condolences. The friends of the deceased also have my sympathy. To the recovery teams, you have my greatest respect and a heartfelt thank you for the work you did, have done and will do in the future.
Sadly, these divers are dead. We now must also look to the living. When an accident occurs in aviation, there are reports and investigations. These are readily available and used in by the aviation community to make it a safer endeavor. There is a lot of discussion on why the accident happened long before the reports are out. The FAA has even issued directives without complete reports to facilitate safety. Diving has no such thing. The ICURR has some recovery reports but little information. In the Technical side of diving, information is critical. Our methodologies, training and skills revolve around lessons learned from previous experiences, incidents, accidents and deaths. With no formal method of releasing investigation reports into diving accidents, we are left only with supposition and internet 'expert' opinion. To move safety forward in our sport, we must not shy from deep discussions on accidents such as this one. We must not protect the ‘memory’ of the dead to the detriment of those living that may benefit from information gleaned from an accident. A goal of an investigation into any accident is to prevent or reduce further accidents by promulgating information learned. We currently rely on information from private industries and organizations such as DAN or ICURR for what little information we will get. Typically, these Internet forums are our best source of information both valid and invalid.
Is there an immediate desire for information - YES. Is this desire disrespectful of those that died - NO. Divers want to understand what happened and where things went wrong. It is human nature. I bet that few of those that are saying it is disrespectful turn their heads when passing an accident on the highway! We all want to learn and potentially benefit by way of safety. The ICURR report that was put out by PfcAj (as reported by the recovery diver) was very detailed and probably will be the bulk of the information we will ever receive. As an example, for me, I am looking at the JJ CCRs. This incident is of concern because they were used. I have a specific concern with the JJ and if this was caused by or aggravated by it, it would change my decision in purchasing it. This is how an incident like this can change our decisions and actions. I think many of us here understand that there is a difference between a preliminary report and a final report for an investigation. The ICURR report that was put out will alleviate a lot of immediate potential issues and will address most questions initially. Discussions on what went right or wrong may very well be beneficial to the Technical diving community regardless of the final report. All discussions should respect the divers, recovery divers and all others involved.
Just before I started Technical diving, I had discussions with my wife and daughter about the serious potential to die while diving. I waited until I had enough financial resources available that they would not suffer a financial devastation by my loss. I also have been very open about the risks as I have progressed. Because of this, my family has discussed what to do with the Internet forums if I did die. Simply put, Information is key. Like Chris, I want 50 pages of bluntly discussed information. If I was an idiot, please lay it all out. If I did something stupid, please discuss it to ad nauseam. If I did things right, point it out. Get as much information out of my death as possible. Most of all, learn from my mistake. Do not hold back because I died, rather prevent others from making the same mistakes that cost me my life. That will honor me more than a bunch of people, many of whom did not really even know me, saying how sorry they are for my death.
I wish to thank the recovery teams involved: Jon, Charlie, AJ, Ted and anyone else involved for doing a very hard job. The diving community lost two divers, Chris and Patrick. I did not know either of them but I can relate to them. Their families have by deepest sympathy. I also hope that I and others learn from them and their accident.
