Where was the instructor?

[zf2nt]

The only issue I have with the instructor is wether or not she ever surfaced. My understanding after reading the accounts available is that she never broke the surface! Instead they all did and someone had to go back for her. I stand on my earlier statement that a student should NEVER be the last one up.

Try this: Student was doing fin pivot with oral inflation. She removed reg, blew into BC, then froze. Instructor was holding onto her. Then student went into full panic and began ascent, with instructor holding onto her. On the way up, instructor tried to put octopus into her mouth, she waved it away frantically and in her thrashing about knocked off instructors mask AND regulator. Instructor let go to get his own regulator back. She swallowed a blast of water, passed out, and sank to the bottom...right next to the DM. DM carried her to shore. Total time on her dive computer: 4 minutes, including descent, check OK on the bottom, line up to do skills, etc.

You can believe this version, or not. I do. It was my DM's who cut off her wetsuit on the beach and gave her rescue breaths that day. This instructor and I were sharing the same float, and he was on his way out to do OW#3 just as I was bringing my class back from OW#3.

This thing has been blown WAY out of proportion...with far too many people speculating and blaming the instructor. He, being a personal injury attorney in real life, knows he can make no public statements. And he isn't. Meanwhile, the student is blaming everybody but herself. And not a word of thanks so far to the people who saved her hide.

 

[pt40fathoms]

The account of what transpired by zf2nt is about as close to what happens when a student goes into full blown panic as I have read yet. The same has happened to me a few times, fortunately without the student inhaling a lung full of water on the way up. Thank goodness for fast thinking DM's jumping to the aid of the student, while I replace my reg, and reach for my backup mask in my thigh pocket.

Unless you are an instructor, you have no idea at all of how things can go from calm to mayhem in a split second. Some people show absolutely no signs of trouble, and by all accounts, are completely calm under the water. Then some little trigger sets them off and watch out. The student often apologizes profusely and is genuinely embarrassed by the sudden loss of control.

Thanks zf2nt for setting the record straight on this incident.

 

[TheDivingBear]

As a new diver who holds an anxiety about diving, I was surprised about how calm I was underwater. I feel anxious before each dive and it is not until I am under the water that the anxiety subsides. I am afraid, though, that something will trigger it and I too will panic. I had incidents where I inhaled water either through my nose or mouth, got water in my eyes after getting my mask finned, and having a faulty BC on my first ocean dive. And, during each of these incidents, panic and fear grips me for a moment; in that moment, I stop or freeze, but I come out of it and clear my head. I stop to think; I know DCS will not happen in within a few feet, but I know I will hurt myself if I shoot to the surface. When I was trying to certify in 2002, the last thing the DI told me after popping to the surface was that I was ignoring the closest air aource, the one on my back. His words stuck wth me and when I tried again this last year, I did not pop once.

It sounds like this girl panicked and popped (or tried). Thank goodness the DI knew rescue and that both survived.

Peace,

Bear

 

[mnj1233]

Try this: Student was doing fin pivot with oral inflation. She removed reg, blew into BC, then froze. Instructor was holding onto her. Then student went into full panic and began ascent, with instructor holding onto her. On the way up, instructor tried to put octopus into her mouth, she waved it away frantically and in her thrashing about knocked off instructors mask AND regulator. Instructor let go to get his own regulator back. She swallowed a blast of water, passed out, and sank to the bottom...right next to the DM. DM carried her to shore. Total time on her dive computer: 4 minutes, including descent, check OK on the bottom, line up to do skills, etc.

You can believe this version, or not. I do. It was my DM's who cut off her wetsuit on the beach and gave her rescue breaths that day. This instructor and I were sharing the same float, and he was on his way out to do OW#3 just as I was bringing my class back from OW#3.

This thing has been blown WAY out of proportion...with far too many people speculating and blaming the instructor. He, being a personal injury attorney in real life, knows he can make no public statements. And he isn't. Meanwhile, the student is blaming everybody but herself. And not a word of thanks so far to the people who saved her hide.

Well finally someone who can shed some light on the subject. Its not about believing you or not, thus far this is the ONLY post that was not speculation including mine! I simply wanted to know if she ever surfaced WITH someone. If you read the thread from the beginning you might have noticed I actually talked about a scenario in which the student might have been doing the skill at the inappropriate time or something. Again speculation but it was an attempt to play devils advocate FOR the instructor!

 

[BikerManiac]

Whoa after 30 minutes of reading this thread.
1.-I dont remember I orally inflated my BCD underwater in my OW. But I dont think I would have that problem in the first place.
2.-It does seem like a diver error as she panicked. Because she wasn't able to find her regulator. I do recall once I had problem finding my regulator. I just grab the secondary until I found my primary. No biggie...
3.-Err I hope the DI and DM know rescue...heh that's part of the requirements.

 

[2Tours N Iraq`]

Until we all have cameras filming everything happening underwater, we will never fully know the facts of what happened leading up to an accident. I do feel students do need to take responsibility for their actions. I've compared learning to dive to taking college classes. As students in both, we pay for our education but it is up to ourselves to put forth the effort to pass the class. Would you blame an instructor for your failure if you didn't do the assigned coursework? I certainly don't think so. As a continuing dive student, I urge everyone to take responsibility for their actions more often.

 

[AXL72]

1. LMAO @ the cameras catching the rodney king beating incidents of dive instructors and dive buddies. Hopefully, diving will not come down to this. I can see the lawsuits now, and there are just too many exceptional DI's / DM's and dive shops for this stuff.

2. Thanks zf2nt!!!!

3. It would be extremely interesting to know how many of you have actually needed to orally inflate your BC underwater?

 

[AXL72]

With your redundant air supply or by breathing off someone elses octopus.

But!!!........with sharing your redundant air supply or by breathing off someone elses octopus, you should not be doing an oral inflate, right???? ....dive over, correct?

I would be trying to deflate my BCD for a controlled slow descent to the surface with my redundant air supply / buddy w/octopus regulator.

Sorry for nit-picking.:sorry19z:

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

. Meanwhile, the student is blaming everybody but herself. And not a word of thanks so far to the people who saved her hide.

Thanks for the update and I only quoted the last part because that's what I thought went down from the beginning. Where's the Instructor is the battle cry of every uninformed dingdong around.

Appreciate you shedding some light on it. For one this makes sense to me. I too have been mauled by a student. Fortunatlly mine didn't panic as badly and I was able to get the regulator back in their mouth but if I had lost mask and reg, then all bets are off I fear.

Most threads filled with "lousy instructor" posts (don't get me wrong, there are many) are posted by divers who haven't a clue what it takes to become a professional anyway.

 

[Web Monkey]

3. It would be extremely interesting to know how many of you have actually needed to orally inflate your BC underwater?

Umm. Never?

In fact, in the case of any kind of failure that would require oral inflation, I'd be deflating it, because I'd be on the way back to the surface, since the dive would be over at that point.

I may be a little dense today, but I can't see this as a very useful skill, and certainly not one that needs to be in an OW class.

Terry