Fatal Accident Video

[CoreyK]

Thanks spike.
I always did great and quite enjoyed myself in the pool, but being congested, in <60 degree murky water with almost no visibility, in such a thin wetsuit, was a drastically different experience!
Still, for someone who has always been comfortable in the water and dreams of having diving as part of their life, I was upset with myself.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12138211#post12138211 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spike78
CoreyK,

Certainly not something to be embarrassed about. You would be surprised at the percentage of students who panic on that particular skill.

 

[saltysupply]

Tough video to have on the net, but never the less 99% of dive accidents are preventable its good to discuss safety issues and how to prevent them

 

[saltysupply]

what I don't understand is was why didn't he drop his weights or was he trying to descend that fast? did he get nitrogen narcosis and panic not to mention he was alone

 

[kaiser]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12277831#post12277831 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by saltysupply
what I don't understand is was why didn't he drop his weights or was he trying to descend that fast? did he get nitrogen narcosis and panic not to mention he was alone

Everybody reacts different to nitrogen narcosis, some people are not capable of rational thought. I have seen guys getting narced spit out their regulators and act like they were penguins trying to "fly" underwater. As disturbing as this video is, it also gets people to think about what they are doing. I also know of another fatality at Lake Travis in Austin, TX that must have been similar to this accident. But on the other hand I also know of a person going to 207 FSW on 32% Nitrox and had no negative effects.

 

[spike78]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12164697#post12164697 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by buck50bmg
Ok this whole thread is really making me angry. I am a trimixdiver, served in the Navy as a diver and have my certs through TDI. There is no MOD for air!

I'm a little confused. How do you figure there is no MOD for air? Using an extremely liberal allowable PPO2 of 1.6 and a standard air mix of 21% O2, this gives you a MOD of ~250 ft. ((1.6PPO2/.21%02) * 33ft)

What am I missing? This seems pretty basic, especially for a trimix diver.

 

[spike78]

Actually, I was a bit off. I forgot to subtract the 1 atm at the surface (I always do that). The MOD for air is actually shallower. ((1.6 PPO2/.21 O2)-1 atm surface pressure) * 33 = 218 ft. MOD for 21% air.

 

[Niles]

I'm bumping this thread, just to try and clarify some things. From what I've heard, he actually survived, the camera was just left at the bottom. I actually saw a video of him some years later, I'll try to find it.

However even though this might or might not be an actual video of a person dying it is still a lesson for people. Never push your limits, especially when diving. Better safe than sorry.

 

[r-balljunkie]

I'm bumping this thread, just to try and clarify some things. From what I've heard, he actually survived, the camera was just left at the bottom. I actually saw a video of him some years later, I'll try to find it.

However even though this might or might not be an actual video of a person dying it is still a lesson for people. Never push your limits, especially when diving. Better safe than sorry.

umm, no....he's dead.
http://youtu.be/jaiKS0jx2pA
you dont come back from 300' down.

 

[snorvich]

umm, no....he's dead.
http://youtu.be/jaiKS0jx2pA
you dont come back from 300' down.

Unless you are on a closed circuit rebreather.

 

[r-balljunkie]

it looks like they were on sinlgle AL80's doing a bounce dive.

doable, but super gonzo crazy.

 

[hogfanreefer]

Glad I didn't read this before diving the Blue Hole today! I was calm and the dive went according to plan, no hitches to 140'. A grand total of 8 minutes at depth.

Really a boring dive. No wildlife or coral except for a single reef shark we saw at about 100' while we were ascending. Cool to have experienced but I would rather see corals and fish/critters and have more bottom time.

Does everyone get narcosis? I never felt anything out of the ordinary at all.

 

[r-balljunkie]

HFR, you probably were a little narced, but shrugged it off

i just got out of the water 30 minutes ago and i can feel the residuals...they were two "shallow" (+_100') dives.

The real test for me comes when im stowing gear away, little loopy.

 

[snorvich]

it looks like they were on sinlgle AL80's doing a bounce dive.

doable, but super gonzo crazy.

What is the step above "super gonzo crazy"? Suicidal perhaps? In my diving career, I have had to do two rescues. One was at the Blue Hole around Belize at 160 feet. Not to be repeated.

 

[BleuFish]

Sad to watch but did anyone figure out what was checking him out at 5:12? Don't think it could have been his knee or elbow bye how smooth and the angle it came in at.

 

[tkeracer619]

Sad to watch but did anyone figure out what was checking him out at 5:12? Don't think it could have been his knee or elbow bye how smooth and the angle it came in at.

IMO it's his bcd. You can see his face shortly afterwards like he is fumbling around with it. We will never know.

The best explanation I found was he tried to do a bounce dive to 300ft on air, likely had a seizure, lost his reg. By the time he knew he was in trouble it was too late. A bcd at that depth would have needed 10x the air to displace the same amount of water. At one point it sounds like he tried to inflate his bcd but it was short lived. They found him at 360ft laying on top of his camera and speculate he had taken his bcd off at some point.

Nitrogen narcosis had already set in strong by the time he is flailing his arm around trying to show the camera his depth. The half second where he pauses and you get to see it felt like 10+ seconds to him.

It's sad but a reminder to stay within your limits and to not only dive with a buddy but to pay attention to them as well. I don't understand the excitement of deep diving on improper equipment.

 

[machonachos]

What a tough video to get through...