Another San Diego Tragedy...

[rcohn]

More info from Marc (a member of Seadeucers):

Mia Tegner had completed a 30 min dive with a max
depth of 70' on the Yukon. I believe there was about
a 90 min surface interval and then the 3 person dive
team did a dive on the El Rey. Mia was doing something
related to her research on the dive and the dive
buddies were not in constant contact. The other 2
divers surfaced after 35 minutes. Mia surfaced 5
minutes later indicated she did not have enough air
to complete a safety stop. A tank with 800 psi and
BC and regulator attached was handed to her and she
descended holding the rig in her hands. After a
few minutes this tank floated to the surface. Her
husband descended with 800 psi to search for her. At
200 psi he surfaced, asked if she had surfaced and
descended again using the remaining air in the tank.
The radio on the boat was not functioning
so flares were shot and another boat responded and the
Lifeguards were contacted.

The Lifeguards responded pretty quickly but the
regular patrol boat only contains a minimal scuba
rig which limits the Lifeguards search to a maximum
depth of 40 feet. The Lifeguards did search to a max
depth of 40 feet and found nothing. A bit later (15-20
min ??) a second lifeguard boat arrived and a deeper
search was performed. The lifeguards descended the
anchor line of the boat to a depth of 15 feet and then
dropped straight down and found Mia close to that
spot.

Mia was wearing a drysuit and an Atpac style BCD.
The Atpac was a very popular BCD with back mounted
wings. The backplate is hollow with a trap door at
the bottom. Lead shot is normally stored loose inside
the backplate. Over a period of time it was pretty
common for the lead shot to form into a big clump
which made it difficult to fall out when the trap door
was opened.

With no air in her own tank positive buoyancy could
likely only be obtained by orally inflating the BC.
The autopsy ruled found the cause of death to be
drowning.

 

[DivingGal]

In Rcohn's last post he stated (from his source) that

"Mia surfaced 5 minutes later indicated she did not have enough air to complete a safety stop. A tank with 800 psi and BC and regulator attached was handed to her and she descended holding the rig in her hands. After a few minutes this tank floated to the surface."

I thought that this was no-no - going back down. Am I wrong?

 

[Mario S Caner]

DivingGal, it is a :nono:, but it is done quite frequently. The effects of inwater recompression can more acurately be explained by one of the Doc's onboard, so I won't attempt to do it.

Though the info that is pouring in is showing us a fairly good picture of what happened, it still doesn't and can't tell the whole story. I does however humble even the most experienced of divers. It does go to show you that no matter how certified or how experienced you are, things can still go wrong beneath the waves, and when they do it's never pleasant.

rcohn, thank you for filling in some blanks with your post. Please continue to update us if you get more info.

 

[DivingGal]

Thanks Mario - I was pretty sure that it was a no-no, and I did do some reading of decompression (etc), but it would not have been the first time I've thought I've read one thing, but in reality it's another.

This will be yet something else I can pass along as a reminder to new divers who I'll be in contact with.

Blowing bubbles at ya.....

 

[rcohn]

For anyone interested, to finish this sad thread.

http://www.uniontrib.com/news/metro/20010207-9999_1m7tegner.html

Ralph

 

[Mario S Caner]

Thanks for the update Ralph. It's just hard to beleive that an experienced diver could die in such a fashion. No overhead environment, no entanglement, help from their small boat etc.

It's a shame, it really is.

 

[Natasha]

Guys,

Thanks for all your work on this thread. I've passed along the last link you sent out Ralph, to many of my group divers.
So very sad. It's the easiest thing if only we all remember it. Maintain your equipment, and if you release your weight belt you will surface and could save your life. Learned really in "scuba 101" but forgotten too easy.
The whole story reminded me of a story I was told while in Cozumel.
The divers were out on a night dive. The currents were very strong. The dive was planned as an 80 foot dive. For some strange reason the currents were pulling people down. A women saw what was happening. A boy 17 got pulled down to 160 feet. His father went after him. As she watched this, she saw herself being pulled to 120, when she ditched her weight belt and popped up. She saved herself, while the boy and his dad did have to go into the chamber. This was a few years ago and told to me by the women, so it's missing a lot of details, but I always try to remember the lesson here. Ditch the weight belt when you're in real trouble,and can't make your stops. Chances are greater you will save yourself then not. Agree?

 

[Dr Deco]

Dear Readers:

It is always very sad to hear of someone dying in what is a recreational experience. Because of this, I wish to say a few words about decompression and decompression sickness. I do not have controlled, laboratory studies on this, and therefore much will need to be taken as “reasonable advice” from someone with considerable experience in decompression work.

I had intended to write a Dr Deco column on the subject of decompression stops, but had not yet actually accomplished it. While it is not generally known, there are not actually any set limits that separate DCS from no-DCS dives in a group of individuals. Yes, that is correct. One actually passes through a progression of the effects of gas phase growth---

[sp] no bubble formation to
[sp] subclinical DCS to
[sp] marginal DCS to
[sp] frank DCS to
[sp] severe DCS and death.

What this means, in practice, is that very seldom will a diver, on a given, single dive, be in a situation where a short deco stop will have made the difference between “bends/no bends.” (The effects of diving are generally additive, and micronuclei formation and growth play a large role - - in my opinion.)

I have read recently of divers discussing the pros and cons of either making a single deco stop or exiting the water to assist a dive companion. While there has not been anything written on this to date (to my knowledge), I believe that the probability of getting DCS by the diver leaving his 5-minute, 15-foot stop to help his/her friend is minimal in comparison to the problems that will befall the individual currently in the acute situation. (Note that we are not talking here about forgoing all decompression stops from 30 feet to the surface, we are discussing a single, shallow stop or the “safety stop.” )

If the situation is as written on these postings, it appears that, to preserve the safety stop, the lady reentered the water and found herself in difficulty. Based on physiology, this should not have been considered necessary. I hope that others who read this column will realize that generally it is not an all-or-nothing event. Naturally, I am not advocating missing stops, since I am always in favor of conservative diving. But, apparently her believing that this deco stop was necessary appears to have resulted in a tragic end.

It is one of the functions of the Dr. Deco articles to help divers realize the underlying physiology of diving and decompression. It is multifaceted and very complicated. (We have very good people here at NASA and debate many of these fine points almost daily.)
________________
Dr Deco

 

[Bubbles-old]

I've been on a few dive boats that hang regulators on long hoses so that they sit about 15' down. Some of these I've seen even have a cylinder rich in O2. I've never seen one used by a diver but the fact they were there gave me comfort. Could this have helped? Maybe. It would be nice to see this more often. This is a very sad story, I hope many learn from it. There are many things we should watch while we're down there and hopefully safety won't become lax among experienced, comfortable divers.

 

[turnerjd]

Originally posted by Bubbles
I've been on a few dive boats that hang regulators on long hoses so that they sit about 15' down.

Sadly this is a technique strait out of the old PADI AOW manual - I'm sure it's in the new one whatever it is called - in the core deep diving section. I have seen on many occasions instructors teaching the theory part, and then completely ignoring this on the dive.

Just an observation.

Jon T