dropping weights could save life

[mania]

This is also in relation to other thread about dumping weights.
This accident happened a week ago in Poland.

3 guys - CMAS P*** and two P** were diving in the deepest lake in Poland (it goes more than 100 meters deep).

The possible reconstruction of what happened. First P** had some problems and decided to abort the dive. Two others continued diving. Probably they didn't kept the planned depth (20 meters) - this is a very interesting wall and a lot of things to be seen deeper. In one moment P*** can't add air to his dry suit. Because he was overweighted - 10 kilos and was diving with the doubles - they started to fall deeper. P*** took the inflator and tried to inflate the wing. Inflator didn't work. Together with P** they were still falling down. It's darker and darker. P*** got to the P** and used P** inflator to inflate the P**'s wing to stop falling. P*** didn't do it in the best way and P** goes up rapidly to the surface. P*** falls down. So he tried his last chance - getting rid of the weight belt. But the belt blocked on the crotch strap. So he tried to use his fins to go up. Breathing heavily he frozen the regulator. The body of P*** was found a day later on the depth of 43 meters. The inflator hose was not connected. After reconnecting it was impossible to inflate neither the dry suit nor the wing.
P** survived the ascend without any consequences.

I remember couple of days ago some of you couldn't see any situation in which dumping weights underwater could save live.
In this case it could.
P*** was 26 years old.
Mania

 

[tomcat]

that sounds quite a bit overweighted for drysuit diving isn't it? if it wasn't, why couldn't he have swum the rig up? if you had to save your life, i'm sure you'd be kicking pretty hard!

with dry suits, don't you keep inflating all the way down? as you swim up, the air would expand, making it even easier to swim the rig up. so unless he was totally off at 20m, it shouldn't be that difficult going up the few metres where expanding air would make a real difference.

i suppose all these reasons would have been discussed already in the other thread.

 

[H2Andy]

yes, in a perfect world he would have been perfectly weighted, he would have
connected his inflator hose, and he would have not gotten so far behind the
bouyancy curve....

but he did...

and if he had been able to ditch his weights, he might have survived

that's Mania's point, i think

 

[Sideband]

I wonder why he didn't manually inflate his wing? Panic?

Joe

 

[mania]

Andy
You read my mind. We all can easily list all the mistakes they did. But you also remeber the thread "dumping weights - what's the reason". Here was the reason of dumping weights under water...
Mania

 

[H2Andy]

I wonder why he didn't manually inflate his wing? Panic?

Joe

yes, probably. once panic takes hold, you're pretty much
hosed -(

also, he might not have thought of it. when things happen
fast, you only have so much time to think of stuff. you sort of revert to training, and without training, to instict.

if your basic training doesn't kick in, or if your basic training
is flawed, and all you have is instict, your chances drop
considerably.

 

[String]

Yet again that problem could and would have been avoided if the divers werent chronically overweighted. 10kg on twins even with a drysuit is a huge amount of weight.

Buddy and self checks failed again. Also these people were trained in manual inflation - why wasnt that used?

Im still unconvinced. Weight dumping is papering over the cracks - its attempting to mask the root cause. Weight properly and it wont be needed.

 

[String]

with dry suits, don't you keep inflating all the way down? as you swim up, the air would expand, making it even easier to swim the rig up.

Depends how you want to descend, you add air to the dry suit to remove the squeeze which can get painful fast and this obviously reduces descent rate as a consequence.

 

[Curt Bowen]

This is also in relation to other thread about dumping weights.
This accident happened a week ago in Poland.

3 guys - CMAS P*** and two P** were diving in the deepest lake in Poland (it goes more than 100 meters deep).

The possible reconstruction of what happened. First P** had some problems and decided to abort the dive. Two others continued diving. Probably they didn't kept the planned depth (20 meters) - this is a very interesting wall and a lot of things to be seen deeper. In one moment P*** can't add air to his dry suit. Because he was overweighted - 10 kilos and was diving with the doubles - they started to fall deeper. P*** took the inflator and tried to inflate the wing. Inflator didn't work. Together with P** they were still falling down. It's darker and darker. P*** got to the P** and used P** inflator to inflate the P**'s wing to stop falling. P*** didn't do it in the best way and P** goes up rapidly to the surface. P*** falls down. So he tried his last chance - getting rid of the weight belt. But the belt blocked on the crotch strap. So he tried to use his fins to go up. Breathing heavily he frozen the regulator. The body of P*** was found a day later on the depth of 43 meters. The inflator hose was not connected. After reconnecting it was impossible to inflate neither the dry suit nor the wing.
P** survived the ascend without any consequences.

I remember couple of days ago some of you couldn't see any situation in which dumping weights underwater could save live.
In this case it could.
P*** was 26 years old.
Mania

I cannot think of any reason, even this one to drop weights or have a weight system that can be dropped.

In this case, the divers were way over weighted to start and if it was truely a life or death situation the diver should have ditched his whole rig or maybe just uncliped that $3 crotch strap buckle that was holding the weight belt on.

Desposable weight systems have no place in the diving industry, they make no sence and are dangerous to have on your kit.

Sorry, but this is my professional opinion.

 

[Rick Murchison]

I cannot think of any reason, even this one to drop weights or have a weight system that can be dropped.

In this case, the divers were way over weighted to start and if it was truely a life or death situation the diver should have ditched his whole rig or maybe just uncliped that $3 crotch strap buckle that was holding the weight belt on.

Desposable weight systems have no place in the diving industry, they make no sence and are dangerous to have on your kit.

Sorry, but this is my professional opinion.

And mine is that there are many cases every year where divers get themselves in trouble on the surface where some ditchable weight could prevent an injury or death.
I am particularly fond of ditchable weight on "the other guy" when I approach him/her when he/she's in trouble on the surface.
Don't be sorry Curt... I ain't. And I doubt we'll ever see eye-to-eye on this particular issue - what with being old and set in our ways & all...
Rick