Learn and Practice Ditching Your weight!

[WaScubaDude]

1. Near Drowning at Dutch SPrings, Bethlehem, PA
Posted by: "Marv Gozum @ JHN" vze3574g@verizon.net igsaturationmd
Date: Thu Sep 10, 2009 7:38 am ((PDT))

Near Drowning at Dutch SPrings, Bethlehem, PA

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/302645-dutch-springs-incident.html#post4692961


[ this report on scubaboard has so far not made it to newspapers,
anyone who can supply more details please post -mg]

My Club was camping there all weekend and several people saw the
incident, which was closer to the student side. We were on the Pennisula.

Divers were the first to respond, although there was a delay because
the first group the husband approached did not speak English and
didn't understand enough to respond. A different group of divers
followed up and then the DS crew in the boat.

On Sunday, we were told she had a pulse and is currently in the
hospital in a coma. We were told the accident was due to "training
error" probably because she didn't ditch her weights after being
asked several times by the hubby.

Sad, I hope she pulls through, though I'm sure there will be residual damage.

I've been diving here for 10 years and it seems like the "incidents"
are increasing simply because there is a TON of more people there
now. The Park has become very popular and draws people from NY, NJ,
PA, MD, DE, and more! Obviously, at a quarry, there is a LOT of
training going on and many folks practicing their skills.

[scubagirlj]

news is that she did not survive-very sad

[fisheater]

Quite true.

It seems that I've constantly reading about divers who successfully make it to the surface, but then can't or won't maintain buoyancy and then drown, with their weights.

[cummings66]

It is sad indeed, one reason I urge every diver out there to take rescue as soon as possible after certification. Every one of us should know how to deal with an emergency, and the things you don't know can kill you as well thus another reason to take the class.

The lessons to be learned are the same here as many other accidents, it's a chain of events which causes it and had one of those links been broken the accident would have been prevented. There was more to it than merely not dropping weights which caused it, that was just the final straw.

So, take the course asap and be a good proper buddy capable of helping when the call comes as it did here. It does sadden me to hear of this.

[IndyDiver]

Originally Posted by cummings66

It is sad indeed, one reason I urge every diver out there to take rescue as soon as possible after certification. Every one of us should know how to deal with an emergency, and the things you don't know can kill you as well thus another reason to take the class.
...
So, take the course asap and be a good proper buddy capable of helping when the call comes as it did here. It does sadden me to hear of this.

I agree 100%

I would ammend the advice of WaScubaDude to include a second point: "Know how to keep your buddy buoyant at the surface and practice it"

There will always be people who panic and forget everything they know when they are in serious trouble. A lot of them will not know they are the panicing type until it is too late. As a buddy, it would be good to know how to assist them and break the chain of events that leads to a tragedy like this. I think this is even more important advice if your buddy is your child or spouse, as was the case here.

[cummings66]

Yes, it's been proven that once a person panics and until they calm down they are unable to do anything at all to help themselves, so the key is to have a buddy there who can assist you. A panicked person on their own is pretty much toast no matter how good they are.

Of course, the better you are the less likely you are to panic because you will be prepared to handle the emergency, but still, some once they are outside that box set of skills will go into panic mode and then it's all over. You can't tell who is who either, not by talking nor by observation, not until it happens. Well, you might be able to tell who will easily panic, but I doubt you can tell who won't panic.

For what it's worth, I've seen experienced people panic and newbies handle it easily. Some people just spook easier. I had a buddy I dove with that when she had an emergency handled it so fast and smooth I didn't even know she had had trouble until she told me. The problem was a stuck inflator and she handled it like an expert, and she had less than 10 dives under her belt at the time.

Training helps, but ultimately the persons ability to stay calm and think are what keeps them out of trouble. This tragic event shows that once they panic it's not going to end well. Part of the rescue course is called self rescue, and unlike the name it's not about getting yourself out of a jam, it's about preventing it in the first place. That could be a useful skill for all divers to have, learn to spot trouble before it happens.