Posted by Wayne on September 04, 2001 at 11:16:51:
In Reply to: This weekend's fatality/injury at Farnsworth posted by MHK on September 04, 2001 at 10:16:04:
My "pre-OOA plan" includes pulling a weight pack or two and holding it in my hand if I find myself OOA.
I can see how buddy breathing from depth after the terror of going OOA at depth can cause lots of problems. But the thing I always remind myself of is that I will pull my weights and hold them.
The reason for this is that if I become unconscious for any reason, I will drop the weight and make an ascent. If I am out, I want to be found at the surface. Most problems can be dealt with at the surface and the survival rate is certainly more on my side when I am found on the surface.
The questions I would love to have answered include the dive profile (from the computer I expect recreational divers to wear), how much air they started with? Did either have redundant air supplies such as ascent bottles (SPARE AIR) or pony bottle? Wet suit or dry suit? Did they have a plan when they entered the water? Were they a buddy team that dove together often?
I wonder these things not for some morbid curiosity, but so I can learn from the mistakes of others. I recognize that diving is dangerous and deep diving is very dangerous. It really comes down to how well we manage the dangers. Since we are basically a bunch of weekend divers (some less experienced and practised than others) it is obvious that there will be accidents. But if we learn from them and apply the knowledge to our practices, we can improve our own safety margins. But diving will never be totally safe -- just tolerably safe.
Wayne