General Sherman Wreck fatality - South Carolina

[Mike]

Understand.

Lesson learned -- don't let a handy man put a chain wrench on your O2 cylinder and try to remove a broken valve in a confined area, he may go boom!

 

[DandyDon]

of course oxygen is coming out when applying during first aid, but uncontrolled, it is very dangerous

O2 CYLINDER EXPLOSION - YouTube

Thanks! That was my point, but I wasn't up to finding the links.

 

[nimoh]

Understand.

Lesson learned -- don't let a handy man put a chain wrench on your O2 cylinder and try to remove a broken valve in a confined area, he may go boom!

yes, exactly. Oxygen is only dangerous when using a chain wrench

 

[Lead_carrier]

(snip)....I've know Cameron for a long time, he has divemastered on some of my dives with them back in the 90's. (snip)
Condolences to the young ladies family.

I've known Cameron and Coastal a long time too. Friendly as heck, but I still won't dive with them

( snip), so the crew member tried the next one by just opening it, and when it starting expelling pure O2 - someone had the sense to tell him to throw it overboard before it'd explode.

Many dive Ops do not put a DM in the water, and many who do still do not run DM lead dives. You need to ask if that's important. Even on DM lead dives, I figure my bud & I are responsible for us.

Why not just turn it off? He's supposed to be a "trained professional" that can react and handle an emergency, right?

You may be right. But Ive been out with them before and seen divers in trouble and russ was all over it. the crew was great. The bottom line it was a tragedy and my heart goes out to the family. I cannot understand how that the crew did not act and had to be told what needed to done. What no need for emgerancy action plan??

Glad to hear that things worked that way when you were out with them. I've have former students and other divers come back and tell me horror stories. In all fairness tho, I don't know that Russ was Cap'n then.

---------- Post Merged at 01:20 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 12:58 PM ----------

One statement on their cancellation policy makes me wary of some of their choices. (bolding is mine) "Deposit will be refunded on any trip we cancel. We cannot guarantee the clarity of the water or sea conditions. Our boat captain will always attempt to get you to where you want to go, but the safety of our passengers and the vessel is always the foremost consideration. If it is not possible to get you to the primary site, it is usually possible to get you to an alternate site. In that case you will only be charged for the trip that was actually run, cancellation is not an option."

 

[ccredifo]

I thought this Dive Op sounded familiar. I had a rather unpleasant experience with them several years ago. Difference scenario but equally inept.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/near-misses-lessons-learned/302709-alive-but-quite-scare.html

My overall impression is they're in it for the money and really don't care about the divers or the experience. I told the Manager three years ago it would be a good idea to implement an emergency recall procedure. He just made up some B.S. story, whatever.

 

[t-mac]

Boat passengers get letters from attorney on scuba diving death

www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=782273#.UBdEn6NdBts

Tsk tsk. Spoiler alert! This never works. It makes you look like you have something to hide! If you have to talk through your lawyer either it is off the rails or you have just headed it in that direction.

 

[CT-Rich]

I would think the insurance company took over the legal as soon as the boat hit shore. They automatically try to take control of the situation, to minimize the liability they are going to be responcible for. If you are ever in the situation for liability for the death of a diver and you haven't had a lawyer take charge of the situation, you are an idiot. This letter is more a reflection of the lawyer's perspective than those of the captain, DM or the charter. I would hope that the lawyers would protect my interests as much as possible. What gets said on the local news can hang around for years of litigation. If a crew man threw a O2 bottle over the side, the context of doing that may be debatable... For all we know that didn't happen at all. I am not taking sides in this cluster f**k. But it might be better not to read into the incident things that are might or might not be there. I think the take home message is to be discriminating when selecting a charter company.

 

[chairmanTARAC]

Well said, Insurance premiums never seem like a bargain unless you have to hire an attorney to defend against a lawsuit Can be very expensive and time consuming, Even if you win.

 

[TechDeep]

I've known Cameron and Coastal a long time too. Friendly as heck, but I still won't dive with them

May I ask who you do dive with in that area? Going to be down there next week, would love to try something new. Thanks.

 

[billt4sf]

Does a leaking oxygen bottle really necessitate a toss over board? Seriously?

Weren't there other divers in the water at the time they threw the tank overboard? Isn't that a risk for further injury?