Adding one:
3) Egos and reputation of those involved once word got out. A trip to the chamber would be difficult to keep quiet on the island and beyond if they were able to "fix" the problem themselves.
They wouldn't be the first or last Cozumel dive pros to get bent. Nobody hides that they've taken a hit and most of the time it's undeserved. And even if a dm got bent engaging in a risky dive on their own time, when your life is at stake you suck it up and deal with any negative backlash later. Reputations can be rebuilt, lives can't.
While I've never personally understood the appeal, bounce diving and deep diving (really deep, not just 10-20 ft below recreational depths of 130) without tech training and appropriate equipment, aren't uncommon and plenty of divers do it... rarely just once. To each their own and I'm not going to judge that. Scuba is an adventure, high risk sport and like other risky activity, it attracts it's share of adrenaline junkies and thrill seekers. Even if you play by the rules you have to have a little bit of an edge to do this sport. While there are things we know we can do to lessen our chances of DCS, there is still no full-proof, proven science that says why some people get bent and others don't.
Like with any accident, diving or otherwise, the only people who really know what the plan was and what happened are the ones who were there. Whether we ever hear the details directly from one of them or not, the outcome is the same and I think the take-away is the same as it was at the initial posts about the accident.
Have more than enough air for your dive plan in case you have an emergency. (Too many divers get annoyed when they surface and still have more than 500psi, as if they were robbed of dive time. If you routinely come up with a lot of air, be glad. Someday you might need it)
Don't dive beyond your training.
Diving comes with risks. You don't drive a car uninsured, don't dive uninsured.
If you do want to choose to engage in risky practices, understand the risk and potential outcomes and be prepared for them. It's rarely just one person affected. If you have family, people who rely on you, then think about what they're going to be faced with.
Whether this was a planned dive to a deep depth, if they'd done it before successfully, if there was a down current, or whatever the actual situation was, if anything, I hope this makes anyone who's diving without even basic medical insurance think twice. Again, not judging, but I don't understand how someone could do such a high risk activity for a living and not carry any medical insurance at all, forget about dive accident coverage, but just basic medical. And hopefully anyone who has a dive beyond rec limits on single AL 80 or 100 planned will think twice. Whether a down current played a part or not, they do exist and now more divers will be aware of them and have some idea of what to do.
