JD's Inspo Failure

[Ian T]

Hey Y'all, How Y'all doing ? (to use floridian )

Interesting reading about the Indo trip. Given JDs previous discussions about the Inspo, can you elaborate more JD on what your immediate reaction was to the handset failure ? Hindsight is always so much better than at the time of the event, so I am not trying to do a post mortem analysis here. Just interested.

Did you immediate switch to OC and bail out OC ? if you have only lost ppO2, then with a known dil, couldn't you have dil flushed, and cleared the loop every minute or so ? (flying it manual I think you call it). This is one of the things that I hear from RB divers, as a reason why they dont need to carry sufficient OC bail out to make it to the surface. Can you elaborate please JD ?

[JD]

Sure Ian, I am happy to elaborate!

Left the surface after hitting the water, checked the handset at about 3m, mainly to double check I had the correct dil listed. I had some slight ear trouble on the way down and my mask was not sealing properly, so I was a bit slow on the descent. I sorted myself out by 60-65m, so decided to accellerate my descent to catch the others. I got a HUD warning of high O2 (spiked due to rapid descent where the PPO2 is rising, nothing to do with the unit), so I checked the handset to find it completely blank. I hit the brakes with my inflator, and after a few seconds to take in what was happening I did a loop flush with bottom gas.

We were using offboard trimix for these dives, and had air as onboard for wing and as an ascent gas, hence my deep bailout was what I was using as dil on the breather. I also had an intermediate trimix of 21/39 from memory. We were using a team bailout strategy, I happened to have an intermediate, others had deco, but we had a drop tank organised also.

After the flush I deployed the deep OC reg, but thought better of it. I tried to get the attention of my buddies, but as none of them were paying me any attention (I was at 85m, they were at 95m, the planned depth), I went semi closed and ascended. At about 40m, I plugged in my air dil and did a partial flush, as we have been doing on the course. I was adding some O2 to the loop while ascending, keeping in mind falling PPO2. At 12m I went full O2 add to the diluent in the loop, and used it on full O2 from 9m after a full flush. I had no deco information, but I fudged what I thought, then went a bit more conservative, and hit the surface 26 mins after leaving feeling fine. I sent a slate down with the drop tank, telling them I was on board and OK.

Questions?

JD

[ph]

Hey Y'all, How Y'all doing ? (to use floridian )

Interesting reading about the Indo trip. Given JDs previous discussions about the Inspo, can you elaborate more JD on what your immediate reaction was to the handset failure ? Hindsight is always so much better than at the time of the event, so I am not trying to do a post mortem analysis here. Just interested.

Did you immediate switch to OC and bail out OC ? if you have only lost ppO2, then with a known dil, couldn't you have dil flushed, and cleared the loop every minute or so ? (flying it manual I think you call it). This is one of the things that I hear from RB divers, as a reason why they dont need to carry sufficient OC bail out to make it to the surface. Can you elaborate please JD ?

Ian first and for most thank God this didnt turn pear shaped (as many have), not because of JD's competance on the unit, but the unit itself.

[JD]

I really don't think the unit deserves any accolades Here.....

Simon's training certainly does. We had discussed exactly this type of failure during our theory sessions, the pros and cons of either staying on the unit or bailing out. I decided to stay on the unit, all be it a broken one, but I think I made the right choice. Here is why:

I did not have access to deco gas until I got a drop tank at 9m, if they did in fact drop it for me.
I did not have access to my on board air for deco, it was only plugged into the loop.
I had limited gas, enough, but limited.
I could go full O2 breather when I hit a safe depth.

JD

[ph]

you are not carrying your deco gas with you?

why not?

[JD]

We were using a team bailout strategy, I happened to have an intermediate, others had deco, but we had a drop tank organised also.

[Craig]

Actually, forgot to ask you if the boat boys did in fact drop a tank when they saw your smb pop so soon & on it's lonesome?

[JD]

They came over and had a look, but I gave them an OK which they returned, so they did not. I was on the unit with pure O2 by that stage, so it wasn't necessary. Had I bailed out, I assume they would have seen the bubbles, as well as the yellow case and dropped the tank in. Maybe I should email Simon and check this is procedure in case of a bail out in future.

JD

[Craig]

Surprised they could make out an OK from on the surface notwithstanding it was usually pretty flat.

Would be interesting to know. I presume if you'd have waved frantically when they came over for a look they'd have dropped a tank in just in case.

[JD]

I gave them a big arm to the head type OK, and I figured I could see him clearly, he could see me too. Had I been gesturing madly, I would hope they would have thrown it in just in case.

JD