A TALE OF TWO SCUBA DEATHS (invitation to further discussion)

[Sam Miller III]

Very interesting posts

Please bear in mind there have been attempts at world record depths and strange unexplained deaths since the beginning of the introduction of the bubble machine.

One of the early strange attempts was that of Hope Root. might be interesting to read of his fatal attempt from the post I made about his book which migrated into his fatal dive:

~~~ Vintage Double Hose ~~~
Or read the accounts in Life magazine.

SDM

NAUI Instructor # 27

 

[gypsyjim]

Unfortunately, it is only by failures to exceed them that we establish human limitions.

 

[TONY CHANEY]

I was gone for a short time due to computer acting up. So I log on today and find that Lynn is gone. I can't believe it. RIP lady you will be missed.

As for deepest dive record attempt...many of us saw it coming.

 

[Rhone Man]

It is interesting that these two deaths occur in such proximity and for Ken to link them in this thread. By all accounts they seem to be at polar opposite ends of the diving spectrum.

Lynne was a superb diver, who was extremely cautious and always sought to dive well within her limitations. She was superbly trained, always kept her gear in excellent condition, and assiduously dived within her limits. Her death must rank as one of the most unexpected in the sport. If you had asked me to assign the best probability I could to Lynne dying on that particular day, I would have guessed it at lower than one-tenth of a percent.

Guy Garman was also, by any general reckoning an extremely good diver. But the more I read about his fatal dive, the more it gets drilled in that this was absolutely predictable. Looking back at what we know now, I would have put the probability of his death on that dive at somewhere in region of 94-96%. The catalogue of errors is just staggering.

• According to Doppler (who, unlike the Facebook posts about Garman, really does know just about as much about tec diving as anyone alive), descending at that speed was pretty much a lock solid probability of severe HPNS. During his descent Garman would have been afflicted with muscle seizures, dizziness and vomiting long before he got to his planned depth. This risk in particular Garman seems to have been totally oblivious too.
  
• Against this, Garman was making a heavily weighted descent. At some uncertain point, in this condition, he would have to start inflating his wing, hoping (a) his bouyancy gas regulator would function correctly, and (b) it would arrest his descent at approximately the right time.
  
• Just to compound that, he was wearing a wetsuit for exposure protection. Various posts online suggest that at that depth the water would only be a few degrees above freezing. And of course it would be pitch black.
  
• And for good measure, no one could really be certain the regulators he was using would function at that depth.
  
• Semi-finally, as Doppler pointed out, his gases were blended with "good-enough" enthusiasm by the local tec diving shop. Good enough for dives in the 200-300 foot range. Not remotely accurate enough for 37 ATAs of pressure.
  
• By all accounts he died during (or very shortly after) his descent. Had he not died we could speculate on the fact that there is nothing remotely like a decompression algorithm for the dive he was attempting.
  

But what is most astonishing of all about the above list, is that these things were pointed out to him and his dive team by multiple people. And they did it anyway. Nothing says more about the sheer obliviousness to these risks than the fact that he brought his wife and son along.

As far as I know, no one has actually released any information to pinpoint the actual sequence of events on the fatal dive. But as a fair guess, based upon the list above it seems likely that Garman, probably having lost some or all of his basic motor function, was unable to inflate his bouyancy and went flying past his planned depth and crashed into the bottom and died shortly thereafter alone in the cold, crushing blackness.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I also can not think of anyone I would have thought less likely to die on a dive. In my opinion Lynne died while diving not because of diving. Garmen died because of diving. Lynne lived a full life doing everything reasonably possible to identify and avoid factors that would contribute to her untimely death. IMHO Garmen seems to have done the opposite.

Based on the discussion generated online I would speculate that the family and "support team" is highly likely to block the release of any and all information they can. No doubt they have read the threads and will not want to provide more fodder. He may have died on what is seen as a "fool's folley" but the ultimate result is they need to find a way to heal and move on. The event has provided a lot of knowledge to non teck divers and hopefully a sufficient warning to "Wannabe famous heroes" to save a few of them from their own "fool's folleys".

"I don't Just want to survive, I want to LIVE" may be a worthwhile attitude but it must be tempered with the knowledge that you must Survive to Live!

 

[Rhone Man]

Based on the discussion generated online I would speculate that the family and "support team" is highly likely to block the release of any and all information they can. No doubt they have read the threads and will not want to provide more fodder. He may have died on what is seen as a "fool's folley" but the ultimate result is they need to find a way to heal and move on. The event has provided a lot of knowledge to non teck divers and hopefully a sufficient warning to "Wannabe famous heroes" to save a few of them from their own "fool's folleys".

That might be right, although I have a sneaking suspicion that a lawsuit from Garman's widow against the support team may not be too far in the offing (they are in America after all), in which case a lot more information is likely to come out.

 

[AfterDark]

Outstanding post Ken thanks, like Lynn's posts, I always enjoy yours. During my 45 years of diving I've lost diver friends that I consider masters, gurus, almost infallible, it happens and it is very sobering.

Doing anything for a long time can bred indifference to the dangers. Events like Lynn's tragic last dive brings it home for all divers but especially for those that knew and dived with her. The take away is always the same for me, as humans we are frail and susceptible to all manner of dangers and hazards on land, where we belong. Once we enter the hostile and unforgiving environment that is the ocean, we expose ourselves to dangers and hazards we are not designed to deal with. All the training, all the gear, all the planning, all the experience, means nothing when the sea deals you a hand you can't win.

 

[freewillie]

I did a quick search here on Scubaboard but haven't found a thread that discusses the possible events of Lynne's disappearance. I assume the discussion is on another social media such as Facebook or other scuba forum.

It strikes me personally that a diver who's skill and training is beyond reproach then has a scuba accident. What is a more chilling implication for the rest of us is that it can happen to anyone, including us. But it does remind me of two other instances of other very experienced divers having fatal accidents.

When I first certified for scuba and found Scubaboard a highly accomplished and very well known diver Wes Skiles had just died in a scuba accident. HIs pictures and videos are published in magazines such as National Geographic. As the original articles indicate he had gone on a routine dive and then failed to surface. As a highly experienced cave diver and whose buoyancy control was legendary it was hard to believe that a routine dive would be the one he has a problem with. But later there was an article that his wife was suing the rebreather company. It seems that even for a diver with thousands of dives that a new activity also makes you a newbie for that one activity.

About two years ago Scubaboard lost another moderator when Quero had a scuba accident. That thread and discussion about what my have happened lead to 93 pages and just over 900 posts.

The most common thread for all three accidents is that the cause of death listed is drowning. Personally as a medically trained physician I view drowning in two different categories. The first is an actual scuba related drowning where the sport itself causes the drowning. This may be a medical consequence of scuba such as DCI or AGE as the triggering event. Or it can be something that happens while diving, such as entanglement or poor dive execution as in the case cited above. The second cause of drowning while diving is actually unrelated to diving but is a consequence of an underlying medical condition such as a heart attack. I view such accidents as slightly different because it is not actually due to a scuba related mistake, but you just happen to be diving when the medical condition occurs. But since in both instances the person dies while underwater the listed cause of death is drowning.

We can be very sure in this case that there is no question regarding the diver's skill or any other issues with poor planning or poor execution of the dive plan. That leaves either a sudden medical condition or just bad luck. The two things that are classic for loss of consciousness are either cardiac related such as heart attack or neurologic such as stroke. Any speculation to what medical condition at this point is pure speculation and conjecture. It could have been any number of different thins. As for bad luck without knowing what happened it also becomes speculation and conjecture. She may have drifted back and was sucked into the down draft again. But who knows?

There have been several other threads and discussions about the safety of scuba diving in general. Invariably those discussions also reference two other activities we do that also have their own risks, driving and flying. Ironically many people fear flying more because those accidents are sensationalized in the media. We sometimes fail to forget that around 100,000 people die each year in automobile accidents. So in life we take on any number of risks and partake in activities that have the potential to be fatal. But I'm still driving to work and flying on vacation. And I'm still going to dive.

We can minimize or mitigate risks by being prepared. We can be careful and plan our days to have as little risk as possible. But at the end of the day we all have a certain amount of risk even through our routine daily lives. I can drive very cautiously but that does not prevent another driver from missing a light and T-boning my car.

My dad used to say, "live every day like it will be your last." I try to do that as much as possible. To me it's better than Henry David Thoreau's "most men lead lives of quiet desperation." I am so thankful that I have been able to experience the thrill of breathing underwater. To see the fish, the coral, the turtles, shark, and all the other creatures that live in the sea up close. I have a passion about diving that is in my heart, my soul, and I long and dream for the next opportunity to dive. Lynne shared that passion. But why God called good people prematurely is beyond my humble means of comprehension. But for the brief and limited time I got to know a little bit about her my world has been enriched. And from the posts and condolences she did for many other people as well.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I did a quick search here on Scubaboard but haven't found a thread that discusses the possible events of Lynne's disappearance. . . .

It was discussed quite a bit before the mods decided there was no more to discuss and locked the thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-and-incidents/513213-missing-diver-clallam-county-wa.html

 

[Kevrumbo]

I did a quick search here on Scubaboard but haven't found a thread that discusses the possible events of Lynne's disappearance. I assume the discussion is on another social media such as Facebook or other scuba forum.

It strikes me personally that a diver who's skill and training is beyond reproach then has a scuba accident. What is a more chilling implication for the rest of us is that it can happen to anyone, including us. . . .

. . .The most common thread for all three accidents that the cause of death listed is drowning. Personally as a medically trained physician I view drowning in two different categories. The first is an actual scuba related drowning where the sport itself causes the drowning. This may be a medical consequence of scuba such as DCI or AGE as the triggering event. Or it can be something that happens while diving, such as entanglement or poor dive execution as in the case cited above. The second cause of drowning while diving is actually unrelated to diving but is a consequence of an underlying medical condition such as a heart attack. I view such accidents as slightly different because it is not actually due to a scuba related mistake, but you just happen to be diving when the medical condition occurs. But since in both instances the person dies while underwater the listed cause of death is drowning.

We can be very sure in this case that there is no question regarding the diver's skill or any other issues with poor planning or poor execution of the dive plan. That leaves either a sudden medical condition or just bad luck. The two things that are classic for loss of consciousness are either cardiac related such as heart attack or neurologic such as stroke. Any speculation to what medical condition at this point is pure speculation and conjecture. It could have been any number of different thins. As for bad luck without knowing what happened it also becomes speculation and conjecture. She may have drifted back and was sucked into the down draft again. But who knows?

. . at the end of the day we all have a certain amount of risk even through our routine daily lives.

. . ."It is also reasonable to expect diving could provoke an acute arrhythmia, which might result in sudden death. The arrhythmia is a more likely cause of death for older divers. . .

Diving exposes divers' bodies to various stressors that independently affect cardiovascular function. The major stressors are immersion, exposure to cold, increased partial pressure of oxygen and increased work of breathing. The combined effect of these factors is that the volume of blood in the vessels of the chest and heart increases significantly, stretching the walls of heart and large vessels. Pressure in the right atrium and blood pressure slightly increase — more so in cold water. The heart has to work harder to maintain circulation. These conditions contribute to various arrhythmias, from bradycardia (slow heart rate) caused by cold to tachyarrhythmia (racing heart rate) caused by cardiac and neuroendocrine responses to stress. Older people, especially those with structural cardiovascular changes and weaker function, are at greater risk of adverse reactions to these stresses.

As Carl Edmonds, M.D., describes and DAN® data confirm, "The victim often appeared calm just before his final collapse. Some were unusually tired or resting, having previously exerted themselves, or were being towed at the time — suggesting some degree of exhaustion. Some acted as if they did not feel well before their final collapse. Some complained of difficulty in breathing only a few seconds before the collapse, whereas others underwater signaled that they needed to buddy breathe, but rejected the offered regulator. Explanations for the dyspnea include psychogenic hyperventilation, autonomic-induced ventilatory stimulation and pulmonary edema — the latter being demonstrated at autopsy. In all cases there was an adequate air supply available, suggesting that their dyspnea was not related to equipment problems. Some victims lost consciousness without giving any signal to their buddy, whereas others requested help in a calm manner.". . .

(From DAN Article "Matters of the Heart")