4 Reasons Divers Die

[Charlotte Smith]

According to "The Dan Report" in the October Issue of Scuba Diving .... there are 4 reasons why scuba divers die...I thought this was a good article and think everyone should take a look if you get the chance.
The first is "Poor Divers Health", almost any pre-existing medical condition or health factor can effect a diver's safety. 2nd was "procedural error" and it included bouyancy control problems,rapid ascents, missed decompression stops, general skill limitations, ear problems, and most critically, failing to monitor your air supply. 3rd was "environmental issues, open water environments can change rapidly, and divers who are unprepared, out of practice, or physically incapable of adapting to those changes become victims. Last was "Equipment problems". While equipment failures account for relatively few fatalities covered in the study, they are the most predictable... and easily preventable....causes of fatal dive accidents.
This is one of the best articles I have read and think anyone new to the sport should definitely take a look.... not to mention anyone who has been diving for awhile...the numbers in this report are astounding. It is on page 66 of the October Issue, written by Eric Douglas of Scuba Diving magazine.

[jwdizney]

certainly some reality check there, huh?..... good info! thanks.

[Hemlon]

Excellent info! Thanks for sharing it, Charlotte!

[Charlotte Smith]

Originally Posted by Hemlon

Excellent info! Thanks for sharing it, Charlotte!

You're welcome....the article really opened my eyes...I think we had another thread about Padi and if they did the cesa anymore and the articles says that 26% of all fatalities in the report, an emergency ascent was the precipitating factor leading to the actual cause of death. Also included in that part of the article was 14% was insufficient air, inability to deal with rough seas and strong current was 10%, 9% were health problems as well as 9% for entanglement or entrapment issues and lastly 8% for equipment issues. Practice ,Practice ,Practice is the remedy so lets all go diving!

[Charlotte Smith]

[quote=jwdizney;49650]certainly some reality check there, huh?..... good info! thanks.[/quoteYes it is and just think...Scuba Toys gave us the magazine for free!

[quarrydiver]

Originally Posted by Charlotte Smith

You're welcome....the article really opened my eyes...I think we had another thread about Padi and if they did the seesa anymore and the articles says that 26% of all fatalities in the report, an emergency ascent was the precipitating factor leading to the actual cause of death. Also included in that part of the article was 14% was insufficient air, inability to deal with rough seas and strong current was 10%, 9% were health problems as well as 9% for entanglement or entrapment issues and lastly 8% for equipment issues. Practice ,Practice ,Practice is the remedy so lets all go diving!

dead on. you've got to be comfortable in the water. panic in an emergency and you increase your risk of death.

[FyVe]

how about #5? "Touching what you're not suppost to?"

[jo8243]

Was panic listed as a reason or was it under one of the other categories?

[Kingpatzer]

I actually disagree with one aspect of the article -- I disagree that equipment problems are more preventable and predictable than #2 and #3.

Checking a weather report, observing the conditions, and diving within one's training levels are trivial to do and are a lot easier than remembering if it's been 9 months or 12 since your last regulator servicing.

Everything but pre-existing health conditions are controllable and predictable to various extents and are thus largely preventable.

I know that sometimes stuff just happens . . . but most of the time it seems like the incident report reads as if there's big blinking lights saying "stop here or die."

[SHAGGY]

Yeah,... I have to agree that this Oct is a great issue. It opened my eyes to several things and served as a reminder to me that Murphy's Law can present itself at anytime to anyone. This issue combined with the story I've read about the divers being left by Sandal's caused me to want to purchase a couple other survival items,.... a mirror and a dive alert signal horn, for my upcomming Cozumel trip.