Instructor bent after running out of air at 40m

[doctormike]

Wow, I think most are way overanalyzing this story. Most of the article really doesn't add up or make sense. It reads more like someone writing an article on a subject they know little about, based upon a story they heard from some person in a bar talking about what happened to a person they met once. I put little credibility on anything in the article other than a guy who is disabled is teaching disabled folks to dive.

No, I think that most of us are basing the discussion on the extensive interview transcript with the injured diver himself, not the initial article. It's either a case of a monumental failure of situational awareness, or (as John has suggested and as I am starting to believe) a cover story for a stunt that went off the rails.

 

[johndiver999]

Nobody is stupid enough to write out a discussion and plan an ascent by using slates and then only make it up 40 feet before going out of air at 90 ft.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I can't be the only newbie has had 8 dives
I look at my guages way more than I should and the few times it for to 1000 I am letting DM and buddy know it then I just keep looking every few minutes the least I've only ended up with was 600 but I have never been the one to call it luckily I don't go through it that fast
But I had the 1000 beat into me while I got open water certified that I should let them know at 1000

I have nearly 2400 dives and I look at my SPG several times during a dive. If I'm deep or near the end of a dive I look at it even more frequently. There is no excuse for running out of air.

 

[scubadada]

No, I think that most of us are basing the discussion on the extensive interview transcript with the injured diver himself, not the initial article. It's either a case of a monumental failure of situational awareness, or (as John has suggested and as I am starting to believe) a cover story for a stunt that went off the rails.

The full interview supports the story that they went to 40 meters, 2 of them ran out of gas at depth and the other 2 ran out of gas on buddy ascent at 25-30 meters. In this case, they all had quite a high RMVs and were under the NDL, or they stayed longer and were in deco. Neither the article or the interview addresses no deco or deco. Regardless, clearly, none of them paid appropriate attention to their gas supply. @dmaziuk question is an interesting one and could be expanded. What would be the frequency of DCS if one were just under NDL or had a modest deco obligation and then did a CESA from 25-30 meters?

Of course, the alternative explanation is that the dive profile was actually quite different than that in the above story. Seems like the 4 divers would have had to collude to make sure that there was only one consistent story. The actual profile was certainly captured by any dive computers they may have been carrying. I would think that this information is available somewhere in the recompression medical record and/or in the accident investigation. If we were the reporter, we likely would have asked some additional questions

 

[doctormike]

The full interview supports the story that they went to 40 meters, 2 of them ran out of gas at depth and the other 2 ran out of gas on buddy ascent at 25-30 meters. In this case, they all had quite a high RMVs and were under the NDL, or they stayed longer and were in deco. Neither the article or the interview addresses no deco or deco. Regardless, clearly, none of them paid appropriate attention to their gas supply. @dmaziuk question is an interesting one and could be expanded. What would be the frequency of DCS if one were just under NDL or had a modest deco obligation and then did a CESA from 25-30 meters?

Of course, the alternative explanation is that the dive profile was actually quite different than that in the above story. Seems like the 4 divers would have had to collude to make sure that there was only one consistent story. The actual profile was certainly captured by any dive computers they may have been carrying. I would think that this information is available somewhere in the recompression medical record and/or in the accident investigation. If we were the reporter, we likely would have asked some additional questions

I vote for door number 2...

 

[Fibonacci]

~snip~
Of course, the alternative explanation is that the dive profile was actually quite different than that in the above story. Seems like the 4 divers would have had to collude to make sure that there was only one consistent story. The actual profile was certainly captured by any dive computers they may have been carrying. I would think that this information is available somewhere in the recompression medical record and/or in the accident investigation. If we were the reporter, we likely would have asked some additional questions

I have encountered this sort of reckless gung-ho attitude before in Indonesia (from a previous post):

I vividly recall a dive trip to the Banda Islands a few years ago where a couple of German divers were notorious for ignoring the DM's plan and doing whatever they wanted, hiding their dive computers immediately after surfacing.
By day 2, off Karang Hatta the DM demanded to see their computers and gauges... they went to 60m+ on an single AL80 tank to reach a ledge where they could sit and look down into the black abyss of the 5900m Banda Trench, surfacing with around 20BAR each..!
This led to a heated exchange with the DM about safety standards.
The diver's position was "If I go into a bar and buy a bottle of beer, I don't drink two-thirds and hand the rest back. Same with my air fills."​

 

[scubadada]

I vote for door number 2...

You don't know what's behind door #2 until it is revealed.

 

[scubadada]

I have encountered this sort of reckless gung-ho attitude before in Indonesia (from a previous post):

I vividly recall a dive trip to the Banda Islands a few years ago where a couple of German divers were notorious for ignoring the DM's plan and doing whatever they wanted, hiding their dive computers immediately after surfacing.
By day 2, off Karang Hatta the DM demanded to see their computers and gauges... they went to 60m+ on an single 12L tank to reach a ledge where they could sit and look down into the black abyss of the 5900m Banda Trench, surfacing with around 20BAR each..!
This led to a heated exchange with the DM about safety standards.
The diver's position was "If I go into a bar and buy a bottle of beer, I don't drink two-thirds and hand the rest back. Same with my air fills."​

Maybe they planned their dive, not a bad surfacing pressure

 

[scubadada]

I generally do not advocate surfacing at 300 psi. For drift diving in SE FL, this is not a big deal. Of course, you have free access to the surface whenever you want or need it.

 

[Fibonacci]

Maybe they planned their dive, not a bad surfacing pressure

More good luck than planning IMO.
This particular incident happened right after the DM warned the general group of possible down currents and surges in this area.
A day later I was caught in a real washing machine surge along a wall...
The gusting currents were eddying around each diver so that the exhausted air formed a 'donut ring' of bubbles... luckily took us along and not d-o-w-n