Shouldn't there have been a warning via the HUD or wrist mounted computer to tell him something wasn't working? Or was this before they became mandatory?

Idiots, They clearly had no business diving rebreathers. No bailout gas, should have called the dive as soon as he went to Open circuit, The Dill is not the bailout gas.

Why didn't the CO2 levels drop?

He's lucky he managed to bail out onto OC. BOVs are essential - if you're hyperventilating due to a CO2 hit, there's no way you're going to be able to switch regs!

Moral of the story: it doesn't pay to be cheap especially when your life is on it.

I loved doing my SETT qualifications...Pity the new boys do not do it now

Im confused, it looks awesome but how do they not get the 'bends' at 30m ascending very rapidly

WOW I can't believe that they thought that, especially when he used big bucks to train. It's a very serious mistake by the way and it's nothing magic. I dove re-breather(s) many years ago, it was in my student years. I never went for fancy training in the Island either bought expensive units-to poor for that at the time :).My first re-breather was an old SOVIET unit I self learned using old manuals from 50-70's(UK USSR USA GERMAN) and all of them thought not to do what he done.

due breathing rate's is 3 litres of bailout is not enough for comfortable ascent... think about equipment

I watched a documentary about underwater cave diving, and they used rebreathers so they could travel farther, because they last waaaaaaay longer. And when in an underwater passageway with rock for a ceiling and no way to surface, that's really important.

A very silly mistake. I have been obsessed with very regular, very precise replacement of Sofnolime in my own rebreather scrubber for a long time. It's shocking how even the experienced tech divers don't know how to replace the this scrubber material which is so critical. Fill 1/3 with new material...shake it. Fill another 1/3...shake and fill the final 1/3 and shake. Do NOT underfill or overfill. It's your life that's at stake here....so learn how to maintain your scrubber professionally.

Another question is 'why were they trying to penny-pinch when Sky are paying for the sofnalime?' Stupid as it is, I can understand people doing this as a hobby cutting corners, but to do it when the employer should be footing the bill is ridiculous.

In basic terms, yes. Deep divers who use expensive trimix (a mixture of O2, nitrogen and helium) like them for this reason as they are efficient with gas. They offer many other advantages too, such as less decompression time. They are also bubble free (apart from on the ascent when you have to dump gas) which is why they are popular with underwater cameramen as the lack of bubbles means they don't spook wildlife, create noise or get in the way of the camera lens.

All you haters need to shut up. It’s sooooo easy to sit in your comfortable room, you're warm, dry, breathing good air then look at a CCR video and hurl criticism… You try breathing toxic air, at depth, and show us how it's done. This chap was improperly trained and it nearly killed him. Fortunately he had enough sense to bailout before it was too late.

So basically, a rebreather just lengthens the time of an oxygen

I suffered extreme decompression sickness when my weights fell out on a tech dive

CCR drivers modifying or make shift from manufacturers guidelines are making themselves look stupid. Manufacturers does all the test to make it safe for use, that where your good money is paid to. Why save on scrubber when you can afford to owe a CCR?

They should have performed a controled ascent straight away

Started using rebreathers in 1959, O2 and nitrox, Pendulam breathing, and we knew the limitations then on proto. Would like to know what the gas mix is, used in the movie. Seems as if training has slipped, some of the professional statements were a bit strange as well. And what happened to emergency surfacing?

@donnywinn please visit our blog which can be accessed from our website for more information on using HBO for the treatment of TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)

Lucky it was only 20m if it was 60 with no stages i rekon he would not be here today for sure.

Im also intimidated by the enourmous ammount of electronics and technology needed to make an airplane fly. Still it is a pretty safe way to travel once people knew how to build it right. I'm pretty sure that rebreathers will become as safe as airplanes soon. If programmed built correctly they can become very safe. Because electronics always think fast and clear. Thats at least my opinion.

my guess would be the extended bottom time. If they are down there for a couple of hours they would've needed to carry many cylinders of nitrox with them.. too much baggage. Plus the Reb is more comfortable.

nobody dies, so its not an incident...

its like electricity, once you know more about them, theory, science and proper operation/maintanance it tends to be less frightening. but the mis-trust and caution always serves well in preserving you alive. Those that get cocky never get a second chance to learn from their mistakes. ..X..

When diving a normal open circuit scuba tank all of the gas inhaled is exhaled into the surrounding water. The air we breathe is about 21% O2 when we exhale there is still about 16% O2 left which is then wasted. On a rebreather the exhalation is captured, the CO2 is chemically removed in the "scrubber" and additional O2 is added (it's a bit more complicated). The scrubber's life is limited as is the gas in the diluent and oxygen cylinders. Max time on that unit is about 4-6 hours I think.

Now imagine what would've happened if he mistook Kitty Litter for the Soda-Lime for the rebreather!?! Just kidding, but seriously folks: is there anyway to take used Soda-lime, and recharge it?

This is where humility comes in and one ends the dive at the first sign of trouble especially with a rebreather. The other divers were certified divers, regardless of experience level they clearly knew and saw something was wrong thus the dive should have ended immediately, just my thought.

tnk you

This "widely used practise" seems to do a good job of hiding. I've never seen it, nor has anyone else I've asked.

Yes it is possible to treat someone who has been in prolonged anoxic coma for 4 months with HBO - but the HBO Unit would need to be specialised and able to handle this type of patient. There is very little evidence that HBO therapy is useful in this condition; it may help brain function but would not help the contractures. Quite a lot of work has been done on the use of HBO for Stroke, but there is no clear evidence that it use is worthwhile.

Patients may have to have between 20-40 sessions each lasting up to 90mins of oxygen breathing at the treatment pressure.

Compression bandaging is much better as a first line therapy for Venous leg ulcers than HBO. It is much cheaper and less time consuming and heals approx 75% of Venous leg ulcers which are often caused by poor venous return from the legs. Therefore we would not suggest HBO as a first line therapy for Venous leg ulcers, however it may be useful when used adjunctively with bandaging if there is failure to heal in 12+ weeks of bandaging alone.

There are 3 chambers in Ireland that we are aware of these being in Dublin, Galway and Craigavon (NI).

The videos are from the patient DVD, which is available free of charge to patients on request from DDRC. A separate DVD is also available for divers covering diving emergencies and first aid. This is available for purchase from DDRC.