Some of you have probably seen this elsewhere, but I thought I'd post it to see if you technical folks had any comments. I don't post much but I do enjoy reading these technical threads.
Article from the December 13-20, 2002 issue of the Bonaire Reporter, p. 3:
A tragic accident claimed the life of American tourist Archie "Mike" Deal, 51, last Thursday afternoon, December 5th. According to eyewitnesses, Deal popped to the surface at the Oil Slick Leap dive site without decompression after a dive to over 300 feet. He was breathing compressed air. Divers on Bonaire are upset because this was an incident that should never have happened if normal procedures were followed. It was obvious that the three men who made the dive were untrained and ill equipped to go to such depths.
This horror story might begin when three experienced divers planned their dive. To dive to more than 200 feet breathing compressed air is risky for many reasons, but people do it regularly nevertheless. However, special training, procedures and equipment are recommended. Only some of these were used. And no oxygen or other safety gear was available in case of trouble. And to go to over 300 feet is almost suicide. According to our source, the dive was planned to reach 350 feet, although this was denied by one of the surviving divers who said the plan was to go to 200 feet.
The three divers wore double tank rigs, but each had only one first stage regulator, so there was no emergency redundancy. They did hang additional tanks on the dive mooring to support them during the long decompression and used line reels to monitor their descent to the depths. They arranged for land support by a fourth man in a pickup truck, who was to wait on shore. Deal was an "Assistant Dive Instructor" with lots of experience. He owned an air conditioning/heating business in Savannah, Georgia.
The three divers descended and stopped at a depth which varies between 200 and 305 feet depending on who is telling the story. The victim's computer recorded a maximum depth of 305 ft. (92.4 m.). One of the survivors said they descended to 200 feet then agreed to ascend after less than 30 minutes, but instead one of them dove deeper.
Up higher in the water column a pair of other divers, making their safety stop at about 15 feet, noticed tanks hanging on the mooring line and a thin line disappearing into the depths. Soon they saw a diver's bubbles rising toward them, followed by a diver who stopped at about 50 feet down and signaled OK. Another diver followed him, reeling up the line. Suddenly, a third diver ascended quickly past them both and the safety stop divers and broke the surface.
Realizing there was a problem, the divers at 15 feet surfaced and offered to assist the diver, Mike Deal. He was coherent and speaking but in distress and requested help. With the assistance of a snorkeler and other people ashore he was hauled up the ladder and lay down ashore, unable to stand, but still conscious. On the scene, coincidently, were a nurse and an inhalation therapist who immediately began to help. The diver who had recovered him from the water brought around his pickup, loaded up the victim and drove off to the hospital arriving in less than 10 minutes. All the while the nurse and therapist performed CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
The victim's buddies were unaware of the problem and remained in the water. They were just beginning a long decompression. Their support pickup truck was nowhere to be seen.
Upon arrival at San Francisco Hospital the victim was placed on a gurney and hustled into the emergency room. A few minutes later the doctor emerged and said that the patient was dead, probably having passed away en-route. The rescuers returned to the dive site and informed the victim's buddies and the pickup driver who had just appeared that their companion was dead. Their time under water was 91 minutes,.
Why Mike Deal, an experienced diver and veteran of many deep dives, ascended so rapidly may never be known. But there are so many dangerous factors in play at those depths there can be many reasons. All that can be done now is to offer sympathy to his family and friends and hope that fellow divers learn from this tragic experience. G.D.
Article from the December 13-20, 2002 issue of the Bonaire Reporter, p. 3:
A tragic accident claimed the life of American tourist Archie "Mike" Deal, 51, last Thursday afternoon, December 5th. According to eyewitnesses, Deal popped to the surface at the Oil Slick Leap dive site without decompression after a dive to over 300 feet. He was breathing compressed air. Divers on Bonaire are upset because this was an incident that should never have happened if normal procedures were followed. It was obvious that the three men who made the dive were untrained and ill equipped to go to such depths.
This horror story might begin when three experienced divers planned their dive. To dive to more than 200 feet breathing compressed air is risky for many reasons, but people do it regularly nevertheless. However, special training, procedures and equipment are recommended. Only some of these were used. And no oxygen or other safety gear was available in case of trouble. And to go to over 300 feet is almost suicide. According to our source, the dive was planned to reach 350 feet, although this was denied by one of the surviving divers who said the plan was to go to 200 feet.
The three divers wore double tank rigs, but each had only one first stage regulator, so there was no emergency redundancy. They did hang additional tanks on the dive mooring to support them during the long decompression and used line reels to monitor their descent to the depths. They arranged for land support by a fourth man in a pickup truck, who was to wait on shore. Deal was an "Assistant Dive Instructor" with lots of experience. He owned an air conditioning/heating business in Savannah, Georgia.
The three divers descended and stopped at a depth which varies between 200 and 305 feet depending on who is telling the story. The victim's computer recorded a maximum depth of 305 ft. (92.4 m.). One of the survivors said they descended to 200 feet then agreed to ascend after less than 30 minutes, but instead one of them dove deeper.
Up higher in the water column a pair of other divers, making their safety stop at about 15 feet, noticed tanks hanging on the mooring line and a thin line disappearing into the depths. Soon they saw a diver's bubbles rising toward them, followed by a diver who stopped at about 50 feet down and signaled OK. Another diver followed him, reeling up the line. Suddenly, a third diver ascended quickly past them both and the safety stop divers and broke the surface.
Realizing there was a problem, the divers at 15 feet surfaced and offered to assist the diver, Mike Deal. He was coherent and speaking but in distress and requested help. With the assistance of a snorkeler and other people ashore he was hauled up the ladder and lay down ashore, unable to stand, but still conscious. On the scene, coincidently, were a nurse and an inhalation therapist who immediately began to help. The diver who had recovered him from the water brought around his pickup, loaded up the victim and drove off to the hospital arriving in less than 10 minutes. All the while the nurse and therapist performed CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
The victim's buddies were unaware of the problem and remained in the water. They were just beginning a long decompression. Their support pickup truck was nowhere to be seen.
Upon arrival at San Francisco Hospital the victim was placed on a gurney and hustled into the emergency room. A few minutes later the doctor emerged and said that the patient was dead, probably having passed away en-route. The rescuers returned to the dive site and informed the victim's buddies and the pickup driver who had just appeared that their companion was dead. Their time under water was 91 minutes,.
Why Mike Deal, an experienced diver and veteran of many deep dives, ascended so rapidly may never be known. But there are so many dangerous factors in play at those depths there can be many reasons. All that can be done now is to offer sympathy to his family and friends and hope that fellow divers learn from this tragic experience. G.D.
