Tragic loss to the NoCal dive community

[Doppler]

Thank you, Mr. Fedor, for clarifying the accident. My deepest sympathies and condolences.

Its been sometime since the event and your post, one item I cannot find on other discussions on this event, was Correy certified by any agency as a technical diver, to dive the depth that he did?

Perhaps worth noting Marv, this has been posted as an air dive. None of the major agencies sanction air dives to anything approaching the depth mentioned here, including TDI. We have extended range on our curriculum but the maximum depth for dives under the auspices of that course is 55 metres; and that assumes ideal diving conditions. I am not familiar with the dive site in question. Is the water warm, visibility excellent and current non-existent? Based on the data provided by Mr. Fedor, this dive was planned for an exposure roughly 20 metres deeper than 55 metres... two full atmospheres. If the breathing gas was air, it delivers an oxygen partial pressure in excess of 1.8 bar at 75 metres. While I see some discussion regarding narcosis, I have seen only one post concerning central nervous system oxygen toxicity. The episode as described seems a classic CNS hit.

When a diver dies, the community benefits and learns from an open discussion and objective accident analysis. Often this is hampered by lack of information or emotion. Sad as the death of a young man is, how much sadder if we learn nothing from it. Given the circumstances presented thus far, two lessons seem to present themselves:

Plan your dive; dive your plan

Narcosis can be debilitating; but oxygen toxicity will kill you.

 

[Saturation]

Perhaps worth noting Marv, this has been posted as an air dive. ...
Narcosis can be debilitating; but oxygen toxicity will kill you.

Thanks Steve, that's why I wonder why the technical details of this dive have not been given more critique. Its certainly a sensitive issue, but something constructive should come out of this unfortunate situation. Again, condolences to the family.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Regretably, Marv, I propose that the most constructive conclusion one might reach is one we may be familiar with: that planning to dive air to depths beyond 7 atmospheres absolute is problematic. It was proven to be problematic in the 1970s and 80s, and apparently physics has not changed much during the intervening years. It is curious that an individual who runs a dive training facility would plan such a dive.

My condolences to the family and friends as well. I am sure that Correy was a wonderful young man.

Doc

 

[AfterDark]

You have my condolences Josmo9. As a father of 2 young women I can only try to imagine what you must be going through. God bless.

 

[udtfire]

sorry for the loss but this was not an accident if the divers were on air 21% only
we have the tec to dive these depths safely and if you use air only at those depths then it is not and accident it is the result of your choices. please get trained make good choices and dive safe

 

[RonFrank]

My condolences to the family and friends of Correy. I did not know the young man, but he sounded like a wonderful mentor with a passion for our sport.

 

[josmo9]

Thank you, Mr. Fedor, for clarifying the accident. My deepest sympathies and condolences.

Its been sometime since the event and your post, one item I cannot find on other discussions on this event, was Correy certified by any agency as a technical diver, to dive the depth that he did?

Hi, this is Correys Dad, in response to your questions about his certification, YMCA Scuba certified him in the following; Open Water II, Advanced Open Water Diver, SLAM Diver, Assistant Instructor, Divemaster & Diving First Aid, these are the only ones he has incertificates on his wall, I know he dove often with his instructor & the owner of Any Water Sports, besides working in their shop & on their boat. Hope this helps. They dove this same place many times before

 

[Saturation]

Hi, this is Correys Dad, in response to your questions about his certification, YMCA Scuba certified him in the following; Open Water II, Advanced Open Water Diver, SLAM Diver, Assistant Instructor, Divemaster & Diving First Aid, these are the only ones he has incertificates on his wall, I know he dove often with his instructor & the owner of Any Water Sports, besides working in their shop & on their boat. Hope this helps. They dove this same place many times before

Hello Mr. Fedor,

Thanks so much for clarifying your son's training. I appreciate your willingness to share details you would best know. It seems he was the road to bigger things with time and progress. My thoughts are with you.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Absent any direct statement from those involved, we can't assume that Corey was on air. The
shop he worked for (and owned by one of his dive buddies that day) was about the first in the
SF Bay Area to pump trimix. And a heck of a lot of the local techies were trained by Phil Sammet,
one of their instructors.

 

[gcbryan]

Absent any direct statement from those involved, we can't assume that Corey was on air. The
shop he worked for (and owned by one of his dive buddies that day) was about the first in the
SF Bay Area to pump trimix. And a heck of a lot of the local techies were trained by Phil Sammet,
one of their instructors.

This would seem to indicate otherwise (emphasis mine)

Hi, this is Correy's Dad, from what we viewed on Correys dive computer after reaching approximately 245 feet he came up to the level designated, Frank & Scott lost touch with Correy around 190 feet, once separated, Correy went back down to approximately 220 feet for unkown reasons, then returned to 190 feet, from there it looks like he may of had some type of seizure, all speculation as no one was there. According to the coroner, he then idled there for a short time then reached the surface in less than 1 minute, the coroner believes he died during the idling period then his lifeless body shot to the surface. I've spoke with MANY diving experts & they all think all 3 divers may have suffered from partial Nitrous Narcosis, they don't remember when they last saw Correy. Diving with straight air & the water depth are 2 of the main causes for this. The buddy system must be implemented AT ALL TIMES. No blame is cast here, but a CAUTION to ALL divers diving about having & staying with your partner. Notice changes in their face, body motions, use CLEAR signals when something is wrong!!