Original article - part 2
Analysis
Dive accidents are usually difficult to analyze, because the facts of what occurred often die with the victim. In this case, much is known about the events leading up to Jennifer’s death. And as is often the case, several significant factors contributed to the outcome.
Lack of Experience
Neither Jennifer nor John was adequately experienced for this dive. Jennifer had never done an unsupervised dive, nor had she previously dived from a boat. She was relying on someone else to guide her through the process. John had minimal experience over a prolonged period, and had not dived in cold water for several years. Neither diver had adequate experience to recognize the onset of the problems they would encounter, so they were unprepared to deal with those problems when they occurred.
Inadequate Training
An Open Water certification qualifies you to dive in the conditions in which you were trained. All of Jennifer’s training dives had been from shore. John’s initial training had occurred in northern California, and he had only done 14 subsequent dives in the previous seven years … all of which had been supervised dives in warm, tropical conditions. He had not been diving at all for more than a year, and had not taken any follow-on training or refresher classes to maintain his skills. Both divers were diving beyond their level of training.
Equipment Issues
Both divers were using rental equipment that was either poor fitting or poorly functioning. John had complained prior to the dive that his BCD was too tight and constricted his ability to breathe. When Jennifer’s regulator was tested after the accident it was determined to be performing well below the manufacturer’s specifications. An inability to breathe properly can result in a carbon dioxide buildup that could have led to both Jennifer’s unconsciousness and John’s sense of panic as he attempted to bring her to the surface.
Additionally, Jennifer’s BCD was found to have a bent inflator valve, which allowed the BCD bladder to fill with water. This could account for why the rescuers were not able to get her buoyant enough to bring her to the surface.
Trust Issues
Neither Jennifer nor John had any framework in which to evaluate whether the dive fell within the scope of their competence. Both divers were relying on someone else’s opinion that the dive was appropriate, and despite their misgivings, that everything would be “okay”. Jennifer lacked the experience to know what questions to ask, and so she trusted the dive shop employee who sold her the charter and told her not to worry. John expressed misgivings about his equipment prior to the dive, as well as his concern about a lack of supervision. Despite this, he trusted the instructor who told him it would get better once they were underwater. In both cases, each of the two divers decided to go ahead with the dive despite their own apprehensions.
Conclusions
There were many opportunities for this accident to have had a better outcome. Those opportunities began with Jennifer’s training. Jennifer had enrolled in an eLearning program, and while there are many merits to such programs, it depends on how they are taught. When eLearning is used to complement classroom experience, it helps the student come to class prepared with a better understanding of the academic material, and it gives instructors time to cover topics they feel are really important in greater depth. However, when eLearning is used as a substitute for class time, it significantly reduces the opportunities for students to interact in a way that helps put “real-world” context into the curriculum. More emphasis needs to be placed on making sure that students come out of these programs with a well-grounded understanding of the material, and what the course is intended to prepare them for.
The dive shop could have told Jennifer that this particular dive was not suitable for someone as inexperienced as she was. A boat dive in the San Juan Islands is by no means an appropriate choice for a diver’s first post Open Water dive, particularly with another inexperienced diver. It is even less so when a boat dive was not part of her initial training. The dive shop could have used it as an opportunity to sell Jennifer additional training, or recommend that she hire a private guide to accompany her on the dive.
There is tremendous pressure on dive operations to sell trips and equipment in order to stay in business. But safety must always be the ultimate factor in any transaction. New divers simply don’t know what questions to ask or where to set the bar for defining acceptable risk. A new diver is not in a position to make good decisions about something they’ve never experienced. They must rely on the advice of experienced mentors and dive professionals to develop and maintain appropriate safety guidelines.
More care in the maintenance of the rental equipment could have reduced the potential for stress-induced behavior on both John and Jennifer’s part. An experienced diver may be able to get by with a regulator that’s not breathing well. A new diver, on the other hand, will be putting significantly more effort into the dive, and putting more stress on the performance of the regulator. A poorly-functioning regulator causes a buildup of carbon dioxide in a diver’s body. This leads to a feeling of “I can’t get enough air”, and can cause a diver to panic or even pass out. Rental equipment is used frequently, and in ways that make it difficult for the shop technician to maintain properly. Whenever rental equipment is used, it should always be properly fitted and tested by the diver prior to leaving the dive shop. One should always approach rental equipment with the attitude that the last person who used it might have had a problem with the gear and failed to mention it to the shop staff when the equipment was returned. Reliance on rental equipment for diver safety places the diver in a position of trusting that the dive shop is maintaining the equipment properly. New divers are not usually trained in how to evaluate rental gear to assure that it is functioning as it should.
Perhaps the biggest issue was the buddy team. Placing two inexperienced divers together in conditions that are unfamiliar to them is rarely a good idea. Add to that a plankton layer that had reduced the visibility, and the shop representative or boat crew could have advised an obviously nervous pair of divers that conditions were not advisable for someone at their experience level. It’s a hard call to make, considering that they had paid for the dive, rented the gear, and made the trip. But making the decision that conditions were above their training, experience and comfort level would, in this case, have saved a life.
There were many opportunities for either Jennifer or John to have decided to call the dive. Granted that new divers may not have adequate background to anticipate the potential for an accident, but every diver needs to have ingrained in them the notion that if something feels wrong, don’t get in the water until you’ve addressed why you feel that way. Divers must be honest with themselves about their ability to do any dive safely. If you’ve never experienced something before, don’t assume that it’ll be OK to get that experience in the company of someone else who has also never experienced it. Yes, you’ve paid the money … and yes, you’ve made the effort … and yes, you really want to dive … but if it feels wrong – it probably is wrong. Take responsibility for your dive. You are the person who is primarily responsible for your safety. Whenever you get a feeling that something about the dive isn’t right, listen to your feeling … it’s trying to keep you alive. A good adage to live by is that problems on the surface never get any better once you submerge.
And finally, there was a difference in perspective between the dive leaders and the inexperienced divers. Neither John nor Jennifer recognized that this dive was inappropriate for their skill level, but apparently neither did the dive shop personnel or the boat crew. To an experienced diver, a site may seem easy and suitable for all skill levels … but that might not be the case for someone with little to no experience. Small issues that may seem simple and easily resolved for the experienced diver may seem stressful or insurmountable to the new diver.
The takeaway from this accident may have more to do with questions than with answers. How much do reassurances … however well intentioned … play a pivotal role in accidents involving new divers? How often do those of us who have done these dives many times tell the new diver who is showing signs of anxiety that “it will be okay”? And how often are we making a mistake by doing so?
Authors
Bob Bailey is a NAUI instructor in the Puget Sound area.
Julie Simonds is the mother of Jennifer Coyne.