Concerns raised about agency response to student fatality

[Wookie]

Yet is is, and it's a good lesson for those wanting to dive on medications. It certainly doesn't make the deceased any deader. If I ef up and cause my own death: TALK ABOUT IT. Call me a fool. Call me an idiot. I certainly won't care and if anyone learns from my mistake, then my death wasn't a complete loss for the world.

It is possible that Mselanous might feel differently. Maybe if she were your dive buddy and she failed to stop you from doing something stupid. Like making blanket statements.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I have read on another forum that IANTD has issued a public response explaining why it decided to take disciplinary measures against some of its instructors.

IANTD's response

Someone should have run a spell checker on that response.

In my opinion, that statement would have been much more satisfactory if it disclosed the complete findings of the QA board that examined the incident, explaining how the fatality happened despite the instructors involved acting diligently and in accordance to standards, as seems to be the official conclusion from IANTD.

Agreed.

 

[Wookie]

I have read on another forum that IANTD has issued a public response explaining why it decided to take disciplinary measures against some of its instructors.

IANTD's response

That may be the most unprofessional thing I have ever read, but I'll give benefit of the doubt and guess that maybe the writer isn't a native English speaker. If they are, that explains IANTDs manuals.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

That may be the most unprofessional thing I have ever read, but I'll give benefit of the doubt and guess that maybe the writer isn't a native English speaker. If they are, that explains IANTDs manuals.

Whether they are a native English speaker or not, one should always run a spell checker.

 

[The Chairman]

Holy hypocrisy, Batman. They PUBLICLY criticized this poor schmuck, thereby VIOLATING their own rules. If they can't live by their rules, then how can they expect others to???

 

[rzep]

My respect for Krzysztof Starnawski and other instructors standing by their principals.
As of IANTD .....there is many good, talented people inside that organization - too bad that they will not see my money.

 

[kensuf]

If by standing up by their principles, you mean exposing the membership of a QA board so they had to be disbanded and a new one convened, or threatening the members of the QA board and/or the organization if the QA board results didn't go the way they wanted, then yeah sure.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

If by standing up by their principles, you mean exposing the membership of a QA board so they had to be disbanded and a new one convened, or threatening the members of the QA board and/or the organization if the QA board results didn't go the way they wanted, then yeah sure.

How were members of the QA board threatened exactly?

And why would a QA board need to be secret?

 

[rzep]

If by standing up by their principles, you mean exposing the membership of a QA board so they had to be disbanded and a new one convened, or threatening the members of the QA board and/or the organization if the QA board results didn't go the way they wanted, then yeah sure.

Nobody threatens QA members. On contrary the protesting instructors are told: "shut up or else"

 

[drrich2]

And why would a QA board need to be secret?

If these members produce a 'verdict' that's strongly at odds with the views of their local community peers, shop owners, etc..., can that be a problem? Is the network of student referrals for advanced coursework in some communities sufficiently limited that an instructor who'd participated in a highly unpopular QA decision might find himself partially 'black-balled' amongst locals angered by the decision?

After all, let's stay another instructor used to refer students to this guy for cave classes, but now decides since he cleared the other guys, his safety standards must be lacking, so it's time to start referring students elsewhere.

Is that just a theoretical concern, or is it a real work risk? And if someone's known to be on a QA board, is he apt to get e-mails, personal messages, phone calls, etc..., trying to influence his decision? Even if you try to ignore all that input, a dozen people calling demanding guilt can cloud your judgment.

Richard.