Michigan Diver Missing at White Lake

[Hatul]

To drown he must have had his reg out of mouth and perhaps his mask off, BC not inflated, fins off, unable to dump weights. Each one is a mistake.

 

[superstar]

I got a unconfirmed report from a local diver that his air was not turned on.

 

[Crush]

That fits-if your air is on then you should be able to recover your reg and orally inflate your BCD and end up at the surface.

Why didn't his buddies do a search and recover him. Or did they do a search and I missed that.

Divers should train at least to rescue diver and practice those skills.

Tragic.

 

[Hatul]

That fits-if your air is on then you should be able to recover your reg and orally inflate your BCD and end up at the surface.

Why didn't his buddies do a search and recover him. Or did they do a search and I missed that.

Divers should train at least to rescue diver and practice those skills.

Tragic.

There was another case like this that resulted in death-- a technical diver jumped in the water with air off and BC deflated. He sank and was unable to turn on the valve and recover and drowned. For some reason he did not dump his weights either.

Adam

 

[DandyDon]

There seems to have been a number of errors in this accident starting with the basics...
Complete pre-dive check;
And buddy check;
Followed by buddies entering together and staying together on descent;
Then ultimately failure to dump weights or ditch kit to escape.

Unfortunate, but all diver error.

 

[jtivat]

There was another case like this that resulted in death-- a technical diver jumped in the water with air off and BC deflated. He sank and was unable to turn on the valve and recover and drowned. For some reason he did not dump his weights either.

Adam

Most not all tech divers do not have ditchable weight however they should be able to reach there valves.

 

[Crush]

Most not all tech divers do not have ditchable weight however they should be able to reach there valves.

They would probably also do a good pre-dive check, descend with their buddy, and while they may not jump in within seconds (to rescue a distressed diver who has sunk below the surface) if their gear has not been properly donned, they would probably recover the body early-on enough to make CPR viable and survival a possible outcome.

 

[superstar]

I got a unconfirmed report from a local diver that his air was not turned on.

When I was filling my tank at the LDS the topic of conversation was this accident. A member of the dive team reported to the LDS that the air was turned on. The diver spit out his reg to call for help. His power inflator was hooked up and working but there is no explination why he didn't inflate his BC or drop weights to stay floating or recover his reg for air. A tragic accident caused by a series of small preventable errors that added up.

 

[Crush]

When I was filling my tank at the LDS the topic of conversation was this accident. A member of the dive team reported to the LDS that the air was turned on. The diver spit out his reg to call for help. His power inflator was hooked up and working but there is no explination why he didn't inflate his BC or drop weights to stay floating or recover his reg for air. A tragic accident caused by a series of small preventable errors that added up.

From post #17 in this thread:

Judge, 43, drowned around 4 p.m. Saturday in Lake Michigan. He and two other divers were exploring a sunken steam vessel, the State of Michigan, in about 60 feet of water.

Shortly after their boat anchored, Judge went in with most of his dive gear on and his fins in hand. He sank as he struggled to put on his fins, the other divers told sheriff's dive team members who responded to the call for help.

The dive team found his body the next morning.

I do not know the divers involved, therefore I cannot comment on their skill or training.

If a diver has attained a rescue diver certification they should be reasonably comfortable surfacing with a non-responsive diver and should be able to do so without endangering themselves.

I am beginning to think that OW certifications should lapse within a few years if you fail to follow it up with AOW and SRD training...

 

[jimthediver]

I think that is what he was saying, however in my hundreds a Great Lakes boat dives I have never seen anyone go in without fins.

I agree, with over twenty years of Great Lakes wreck diving I have never seen anyone go over the side without his fins on....at least not on purpose.

jimthediver