Gas failure kills local diver - Washington state

[KevinNM]

Given the location in the original story I have to wonder if this wasn't a commercial harvester diving on surface-supplied air.

Aren't they required to have a bail-out system?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Aren't they required to have a bail-out system?

Won't do you a lot of good if you pass out before you even realize you're having a problem ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[2airishuman]

When they examined the reg later they found out that DM 1 had been doing his own reg servicing without proper training and there is a part that he had put in upside down.

It's good engineering practice when designing, say, a regulator, to make sure that the parts won't fit together in a way that doesn't result in a working assembly.

Properly trained tech make mistakes. So do production workers in factories where regulators are made.

 

[redacted]

The cause was relayed to me on a later dive by the shop owner/captain. Reg had been taken apart and examined by a trained technician after the trip. This is now a paraphrase but one part can be put in correctly or upside down. The two sides are only slightly different. But if in incorrectly under higher pressure it can cause a jam in the closed position. Another buddy of mine who is tech for a number of kinds of regs seemed to know the part of which we were speaking and was aware of the potential.

I can not imagine what that part might be. I would really appreciate it if you could talk to your tech buddy and let me know.

Thanks.

 

[redacted]

Air2 / Air3 is the BCD regulator and inflator - it was a one way valve that was installed - upside down / backwards...
I dont use an Octo - I use a primary and my Air3.

I do have a couple air2's as my wife refuses to give hers up. I suppose a sufficienty talented fool migh be able to install an exhaust valve backwards but that would prevent exhale, not inhale. Same fool might be able to install the orifice backwards but that would likely result in a freeflow problem rather thaqn prevent air delivery.

What was your failure mode?

I really don't trust most shops when it comes to acknowledging what they did wrong. Some are real good at creating reasonable sounding nonsense and at discouraging customers from ever even thinking of doing any service on their own gear.

EDIT: Was the problem with the QD? I may have to play around a little t0 see what that fool could have done with the QD poppet.

EDIT: Sorry BRD, I missed your last post. That does make sense. The seal on the air2 manual exhaust looks in a schematic like it could be installed backwards and would then neither seal the case when pressed nor seal the bcd inlet when not deressed. It would causee the bcd to leak through the inflator and water in the bcd to enter the breathing stream when you try to breathe through the octo/inflator.

Thanks.

 

[DandyDon]

If this death was due to an equipment failure it would be helpful to know what kind of failure.

It's rare that we quickly learn such from followup news, but we did this time!

Given the location in the original story I have to wonder if this wasn't a commercial harvester diving on surface-supplied air.

Bingo!

Aren't they required to have a bail-out system?

The county medical examiner noted that it was an “unsafe dive operation,” with disregard for emergency procedures.

How difficult it it to severe an air supply line?

Whatcom County diver’s air supply severed in fatal accident, autopsy shows

LUMMI RESERVATION


A Lummi man was identified Friday, Oct. 28, as the commercial diver killed this week in an accident near the San Juan Islands.

Hank William Hoskins Sr. drowned when his air hose severed while diving in the general area of Sucia Island around 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26. He did not have a backup air supply, according to the Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The crew on the boat reported he had been underwater for about five minutes before he could be pulled on board. He was rushed by boat about 10 miles east of Sucia to Gooseberry Point, where aid crews and the U.S. Coast Guard helped to bring him ashore.

Hoskins could not be revived. He was 40.

Asphyxiation by saltwater drowning was the official cause of death, said Gary Goldfogel, the county medical examiner. Goldfogel ruled the death an accident. He noted, however, that it was an “unsafe dive operation,” with disregard for emergency procedures.

Hoskins, a fisherman who has lived on the Lummi Reservation for years, had one son and about 10 nephews on the Lummi Blackhawks football team. Out of respect for the Hoskins, the team’s game against Neah Bay was canceled.

 

[AfterDark]

I thought that regulators would - sort of - always fail by freeflowing, instead of shut down. Can somebody explain?

That's when they are assembled correctly and something fails. If it's put together wrong all bets are off.

 

[chillyinCanada]

This recent information is horrifying!

 

[Herb-alaska]

if you think this is Horrifying you should see what other harvest divers out there are doing. That would really give you are fright. everything from trying to mix nitrox on the fly in a hooka system while the tender is cleaning product, driving the boat , and tending the diver to using auto compressors to make breathing air. I personally know one diver who does not use a tender, He anchors the boat, starts the compressor and when it runs out of fuel he surfaces, Fortunately he does use a bail out bottle. Harvest diving is regulated for protection of the resource, but not for the safety of the diver. Most are diver owned business so there is no OSHA involvement. There are some really safe divers and there are some scary ones. I am always sorry to hear about a death, but I am very rarely surprised.

 

[Freewillow]

at what depts are these guys operating. CESA not possible?