Rescue 116 Crash at Blackrock, Co Mayo(Mod note in post 1)

Means Of Escape wrote: »

So many people involved in this operation who can never be all thanked individually
A lady serving stew to the divers said on the radio yesterday morning that they were all doing their bit as it was their moral duty to help in any way they could .
It is most uplifting that despite all the distractions of life people will go out of their way to help .

There has to be particular praise given to the divers who are entering a very hostile area to attempt to recover the crewman .
Then treating the deceased with the respect and dignity he deserves is highly commendable

I expect that there will be a ceremony held by the government to honour those who died in the line of duty and individual recognition to the divers who have the most difficult task to do in every respect .

Very well said Means of Escape.

knockon wrote: »

Normally with the kind of rough weather we get it takes a number of days for the "Viz" (divers speak for visibility) to settle down with all the strong currents and everything getting churned up. 40m depth is dark and gloomy, the cold is not a factor as the Naval Diving Section use dry suits, everything is grey until you light it up with a torch. At a wild guess I would say they are working on viz in excess of 5m but not much more. I guess then given a bottom time (bottom time is the moment you begin your descent from the surface to the moment you begin your ascent from the depth you were at) of 10 mins they are probably doing decompression stops also but not sure as these days its rebreathers and nitrox rather than just compressed air before. This is very challenging work for the naval divers. The wreckage will have debris, cables and items that can very easily snag equipment or persons and moving about on or near the sea bed any motion will churn up sand (if its there) making visibility poor again. Really difficult work technically and emotionally.

Thank you very much for your answer. Exactly what I was looking for

Gadgetman496 wrote: »

They mentioned that their primary concern is for the safety of the divers and all the rescue team, with the good day yesterday and the time they had on the bottom why did they not attempt a lift?

I suggest we leave such queries to the experts on the spot.

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

That could be what is known as "rushing things". They would have had to assess the state of the wreck, the feasibility of recovering the body, recovering the black box, etc.

A deliberate approach is best if they want to get things done "right", as opposed to getting it done "now". Rushing things where there is no need for it except to satisfy the curiosity of a spectator only leads to errors and potential injury.

Besides, it's not as if the wreck is going anywhere

I have no doubt they had their reasons and I'm well aware that those involved are the experts, it's was a genuine question to see what others with more knowledge would see as the reasons they did not.

I think it's hard to over-emphasise how these are tough and dangerous conditions for the divers, physically and of course emotionally.

Due to the depth, the most they can spend is something like 10 minutes on the bottom, and that's not a lot of time, and then the dive itself will still go on for another while (maybe half an hour or so) as they do decompression stops on the way back up. And once they're back on the surface they have to wait a couple of hours for excess nitrogen to leave their blood, so they can't just go back down again. Each dive will have a cumulative effect on them and normally, if doing multiple dives in a day, you'd start with the deepest and the do shallower dives later, but that's not an option for them either. Using a decompression chamber isn't normal diving practice, it's usually only used when certain limits have been pushed.

So five teams of ten divers isn't a lot, 10 mins bottom time per dive isn't a lot, only a few dives each a day isn't a lot, and as someone said earlier, any kind of wreck (especially one that's so new) is extremely dangerous as it's easy to get snagged or trapped. None of those factors are ideal or help them in the tough job they're trying to do. I have nothing but respect and admiration for them.

J.

denismc wrote: »

Considering the depth and the conditions, diving on the wreck is going to be difficult. The visibilty, swell and current make recovering anything very difficult and very risky.
The last thing people want is another casualty, so they will assess the scene and conditions and proceed accordingly.

Agreed furthermore not knowing the condition of the helicopter which I am sure is very poor I expect needing to select multiple and good anchor points on it for a lift takes more than one day given the consideration for the weight of the water pulling on it and what it will do as soon as it comes off the bottom
They want to prevent it disintegrating as it comes to the surface due to poor load distribution .

There are no words to describe what the families of the R116 crew members are going through. It sounds like an absolute living nightmare. They know the fate of their loved ones yet cannot grieve until they are recovered. The uncertainty of what each day brings must be torturous.
Those that are searching for them, dedicating themselves until they are found, are true heros. It is an unenviable job. I hope that they know the high esteem in which they are held. True heros of this country.

mulbot wrote: »

Good to hear-I think that's equivalent to my PADI Divemaster? Doesn't look like they are on re-breathers with their short bottom times,maybe to decompress quicker? Is it likely the ROV has done alot of the work already?

I think PADI dive master = CMAS 3 star

Reati wrote: »

Seriously, not to derail the thread, but can people stop going on like this. We're having an open discussion on a public discussion board. This whole can't ask a question without some smart arse answer of "leave it to the experts" is getting ridiculous. If a question is out of line the mods will deal with it.

The poster had a legit question about why the might not recover the wreck in day one. It's a perfectly fine question, in line with the rules set down by the mods and other posters may be able to answer it. I've found the answers posted afterward about why interesting. I've also learned a deal about diving I didn't know before.

Well said. Too much bolloxolgy in this thread. While posters are anonymous there's some people here who are actually involved in aviation who have a well thought out inpu from experience.
The amount of back seat modding bull**** is horrendous.

There should be a thread for legitimate questions and Frank discussion.
Anybody who may be offended should.choose not to click on it.

Anyone know if the conditions will allow diving today?

Was thinking the same thing

I was just looking at the webcam on Keel beech also looks nice and calm .. fingers crossed

Wind at Belmullet currently easterly 6 knots.