Woman dies during scuba dive off Wilmington

[cdolphin]

The woman died on the Gil. We went to the site a few days later to do some diving. A friend told me she had a drysuit, and it may have been overinflated. That is not validated fact, though.

This would possibly explain the AGE / rapid ascent, if both these things are true.

Originally Posted by Instructor C
Unofficial official report lists C.O.D. as drowning due to A.G.E.

 

[deepair]

According to a friend, Yes there was an issue with her Drysuit and there was a rapid ascent. The reason for both are not known. Apparently, the drysuit leaked. Those are the only facts I know. I will not post the rumors surrounding the facts. My heart and prayers go out to the family.

 

[cdolphin]

According to a friend, Yes there was an issue with her Drysuit and there was a rapid ascent. The reason for both are not known. Apparently, the drysuit leaked. Those are the only facts I know. I will not post the rumors surrounding the facts. My heart and prayers go out to the family.

I am in the Pacific NW, a fairly new diver, and considering a drysuit. This is a question I never considered. Leakage and buoyancy problems.

I know you don't want to speculate on this particular tragedy's cause as relating to the drysuit, but I would respectfully like someone here with experience in drysuits to explain if water leaking into the drysuit could somehow cause an ascent? (other than panic)

In addition, could rapid ascent be caused by air somehow "leaking" unintentionally into the drysuit? Such as a malfunction of some inflator device or coupling. Which assumably the diver could purge and do a controlled ascent.....

Is all the air pressed out due to increased pressure at depth when the suit is breached? If a hole is torn in the suit itself does this create a need-to-inflate the BC similar to non-dry diving? Or would a leak caused by a rip of the seam or fabric allow water to enter and displace only some of the air?

Unintentional deattachment of the inflation hose would not cause an exchange, would it? I assume the attachment point is sealed when the hose becomes dettached?

Thanks to anyone who can answer these questions.

 

[spooky1]

I am in the Pacific NW, a fairly new diver, and considering a drysuit. This is a question I never considered. Leakage and buoyancy problems.

I know you don't want to speculate on this particular tragedy's cause as relating to the drysuit, but I would respectfully like someone here with experience in drysuits to explain if water leaking into the drysuit could somehow cause an ascent? (other than panic)

In addition, could rapid ascent be caused by air somehow "leaking" unintentionally into the drysuit? Such as a malfunction of some inflator device or coupling. Which assumably the diver could purge and do a controlled ascent.....

Is all the air pressed out due to increased pressure at depth when the suit is breached? If a hole is torn in the suit itself does this create a need-to-inflate the BC similar to non-dry diving? Or would a leak caused by a rip of the seam or fabric allow water to enter and displace only some of the air?

Unintentional deattachment of the inflation hose would not cause an exchange, would it? I assume the attachment point is sealed when the hose becomes dettached?

Thanks to anyone who can answer these questions.

If it was caused by suit overinflation its probable it was caused by a stuck inflator.That type of malfunction is covered in a drysuit course and simply consists of disconecting the inflator on your chest. Once disconnected you can simply ascend normally since you only need the inflation for descent.

Its also important to be able to actually release the hose fitting with the gloves you're wearing. Most drysuit hoses have a large flange or should be used with a hose hat, especially with heavy gloves.
Water entering the suit won't cause an ascent ,but depending on water temp you may WANT to ascend.

 

[cdolphin]

Thank you. Do they cover the torn suit issue in the classes too? I think it would be instructional here as well on this incident. I can see how bubbles of air that are uncontrollable if you don't know where the breach is could wreak havoc in buoyancy.

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Unintentional inflation can be caused by dirt or sand in some inflator assemblies. This usually presents as a slow leak that may go un noticed by an inexperienced dry suit diver who just notes the need to dump gas on a very frequent basis. More rarely you can get unintentional inflations from other causes. I have noted specifically with two divers using a specific suit and zipper design that a certain common inflator design could get trapped between the arm and the zipper causing an unintended inflation. Rotating the inflator slightly so it does not lay flat against the suit prevents the issue, but it is unexpected unless you are aware of the potential.

In most cases, restrictors are used to ensure that the gas can be vented faster than it enters. In the event the dump valve is not effective in stopping the ascent you can quickly dump gas by pulling the neck seal or a wrist seal away from your skin. You get wet, but you also rapidly dump gas. Some glove/ring systems as well as neck dams on soem helmets and band masks can impede your ability to dump gas that way. As noted above, disconnecting the inflator is a sure way to stop the inflation. If all else fails, you can flare in a spread eagle position. That adds so much area and drag that while you will go all the way to the surface, you will go up comparatively slowly.

Where this potentially goes off the rails is in a chain of events where the diver may:

1. Have too much gas in the suit, and
2. have a bit too much room in the suit, allowing
3. the gas in the suit to shift to the legs, where
4. if the feet/boots are too large or not well secured, it can
5. pull the fins / boots off the divers feet.

That can then result in a diver who is upside down (feet up) in the water with no effective way to get out of it unless they can grab something solid. If they are also positively buoyant, it is near impossible to vent gas from the suit and a rapid ride ride to the surface is very likely.

Prevention is key and most dry suit classes teach divers how to avoid the above problems and to roll out of an upside down position before it gets out of control.

The immediate risk with a torn shell type dry suit is the potential for a loss of buoyancy and your BC or wing needs to be adequate to accommodate that. The longer term issue is that a flooded shell type dry suit is very cold and can cause issues if you have a long deco obligation or require a long time to exit an overhead environment.

---

Any discussion as to whether a dry suit or inflation issue had any bearing on this accident is pure speculation - there are lots of potential reasons for a rapid ascent.

 

[Instructor C]

Adding to the delay was the fact an EMT had to be recruted from an outside agency before the CG boat could sail. Also once the CG was on site, the o2 bottle they brought was empty and the defibrillator wasn't charged.

 

[DandyDon]

Adding to the delay was the fact an EMT had to be recruted from an outside agency before the CG boat could sail. Also once the CG was on site, the o2 bottle they brought was empty and the defibrillator wasn't charged.

Oh really? Something heard somewhere?

 

[Lead_carrier]

Adding to the delay was the fact an EMT had to be recruted from an outside agency before the CG boat could sail. Also once the CG was on site, the o2 bottle they brought was empty and the defibrillator wasn't charged.

Not saying you're wrong but from my experiences with the CG, I find that difficult to comprehend.

Having a rescue boat not ready to sail would be like the fire department going on a call then asking to borrow water and hoses.

 

[northen diver]

Adding to the delay was the fact an EMT had to be recruted from an outside agency before the CG boat could sail. Also once the CG was on site, the o2 bottle they brought was empty and the defibrillator wasn't charged.

Not all small boat stations have EMT's on hand. They use the EMT's from the local fire departments. Most of the USCG EMT's are AST (rescue swimmers) and a good many of the AST are at air stations, not boat stations. Also, it was mentioned that they went out on a 41 boat. I believe that Wilmington Beach has only 47's. Dont believe all the rumors nor what you read all the time. It would be nice for you to cite where you are getting your information before you go off bashing the USCG with only 4 post.