The deep air angle - split from Missouri Fatality

[gcbryan]

Teaching deep air may not be the most progressive thing to do but blaming all/most deep diving deaths on air is just pushing a personal agenda and using whatever facts are at hand to do it.

This 100 fsw END statement is just nonsense as has been pointed out. People die on deep dives for the same reasons they die on any dives...health issues, lack of knowledge/experience/judgement and equipment issues. Depth just magnifies the problem. Narcosis is but one small part of the equation.

To be so adamant about that one issue is just a personal decision/belief. The Jehovah's Witnesses that come to my door asking if "I've seen the light" or those in white dress shirt and tie chasing me down the street on their bikes are certain that they have the answer and are justified in pushing that belief on other's ...they are wrong as well.

 

[DCBC]

I've had various "urgent" situations which have required my immediate attention while breathing air between 150' & 250'. Narcosis hasn't prevented me from addressing these problems adequately (even if it has just been knowing enough to bail-out of the situation).

My decision to dive deep air, is based upon my training and personal experience. I generally don't use Helium for dives above 200' as it's just not required for me as an individual. We each have to make this choice for ourselves.

I feel the same way about a wreck or cave dive, using a CCR, or undergoing a saturation dive. If I didn't feel that the dive was safe and I hadn't taken the necessary precautions, I wouldn't do the dive. Few of us would knowingly allow ourselves to be subjected to insurmountable danger.

If someone wants to use Helium on all their dives below 50', no problem. Although I think it's ridiculous, I wouldn't object or chastise them for doing so. When these same people criticize others for their choices, I run into difficulty with their attitude. Perhaps it's time for them to realize that their choice relates to themselves and not others. We are all big boys and girls and should be allowed to make our own decisions.

 

[fnfalman]

Holy cow!!! I just dived yesterday on 21% Nitrox to 77-ft depth. I'm glad to have come back in one piece at all.

 

[Blackwood]

An experienced 45 year old wreck diver suddenly lost consciousness during a 170 fsw air dive on the Chester Polling and drowned in the arms of his partner. The exact cause of his death is unknown.

um, drowning?

 

[Rhone Man]

um, drowning?

I picked up on that as well. I assumed they meant the reason for loss of consciousness was unknown.

 

[Blackwood]

I picked up on that as well. I assumed they meant the reason for loss of consciousness was unknown.

I made the same assumption, but still wanted to pick at it

 

[Trace Malinowski]

um, drowning?

I picked up on that as well. I assumed they meant the reason for loss of consciousness was unknown.

I made the same assumption, but still wanted to pick at it

Don't you guys have anything better to do?

I made the same assumption, but didn't bother to change the original article. The full synopsis of that accident is (from AquaCorps):

An experienced 45 year old wreck diver suddenly lost consciousness during a 170 fsw air dive on the Chester Polling and drowned in the arms of his partner. The exact cause of his death is unknown. The team descended on the "near virgin" wreck at 140-170 fsw for what planned to be a short first dive of the day leaving their inflatable boat unattended but anchored into the wreck. Conditions were good and there was no current. About 10-15 minutes into the dive, the surviving partner called the dive and begin to ascend to the bow at 140 fsw to free their anchor.

The diver drifted back down to the bottom briefly for one more sweep of the area. When he returned to their ascent line he didn't look right to his partner who signaled, "OK?" The diver signaled, "NO- Not OK," but didn't indicate what was wrong. His partner grabbed him by the harness to maintain contact during their ascent. As they ascended the diver began moving his arms and legs and then his legs went limp at about 90 fsw. At 80 fsw his regulator fell out of his mouth and the diver lost consciousness. The surviving partner was "freaked" and tried to resuscitate the diver without success. At 15 fsw the surviving partner elected to complete a portion of his decompression before surfacing, removed the diver's weightbelt, inflated his BC and pushed him to the surface. There was no surface support person or anyone on their boat. The surviving partner completed about 5 minutes of air decompression, surfaced and went on oxygen. A nearby sailboat had picked up the drowned diver and had radioed the Coast Guard station which was only a few minutes away. CPR was applied to no avail. There were no life signs. The diver was evacuated to the hospital and pronounced dead. The autopsy stated the cause of death was drowning. It is highly unlikely that the event was an oxygen convulsion (a PO2 of 1.26 atm at low to moderate work levels). The diver had no previous history of cardiac problems and was reportedly in great shape.

 

[DCBC]

It is highly unlikely that the event was an oxygen convulsion (a PO2 of 1.26 atm at low to moderate work levels). The diver had no previous history of cardiac problems and was reportedly in great shape.

Sounds like nitrogen narcosis poisoning to me Trace.

 

[Blackwood]

Don't you guys have anything better to do?

I'll give you one guess. :mooner:

 

[Trace Malinowski]

Another thought occurred to me and I'm just playing the role of Devil's advocate here, but one argument against air diving is the delay in response and reaction time to emergencies and problematic situations.

This weekend while teaching intro to tech, I was in 45 F water in summer underwear. My suit flooded the day before due to pilot error. I could tell that I was less prone to provide as much feedback to students as when the water is warm, was less motivated to correct some things I would have probably corrected if warmer, and waited slightly longer before trying to help.

It got me thinking about how my diving changes between warm and cold water and about my levels of apathy due to temperature. Cold water diving, even when using trimix, impairs us to some degree. Even if we know what is going on, we may be more likely to delay a response to anything but an emergency. When the water is in the 30's, I won't teach because I feel that some of the apathy I have in winter water is not conducive to my role as an educator or the safety of students.

We seem to blame deep air divers for risking impairment, but we are okay with cold water diving. Even with warm underwear, drysuits and argon, divers will become cold and impaired when cold.

At what point is a chilled diver as stupid as a deep air diver? Or, is this subjective like air diving?