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Scuba Forum / General / May 2005Instructor death on Long Island
Anyone have any info on an instructor who died at a High School pool on Long Island while testing out equipment? i heard it on the news this morning but couldn't find anything more. > Anyone have any info on an instructor who died at a High School pool > on Long Island while testing out equipment? i heard it on the news > this morning but couldn't find anything more. Found this through Google News. One of four deaths scuba deaths that I spotted over the past 4 days. He is the only person under 40 to have died while on scuba. Diving pro found dead in L.I. pool BY RICHARD WEIR and DAVE GOLDINER DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS An experienced scuba diving instructor who "loved the water" died mysteriously during a training session in a high school pool on Long Island, authorities said yesterday. David Rampersad's body was found Saturday afternoon by fellow instructors in 4-foot-deep water at the Chaminade High School pool in Mineola. "We were all there in the pool - I don't know what happened," said Nicole Simmons, 42, a fellow instructor for dive shop Scuba Network. "Nobody can believe it." Authorities called the death puzzling because the 38-year-old Queens man could have easily stood up or swum to the surface if his equipment malfunctioned. They were investigating the possibility that he was stricken by some unrelated medical condition while diving. "A death in that shallow water is extremely rare," said Mike Careu, a retired NYPD diver with 30-plus years of experience. Rampersad, of Richmond Hill, was working with several other instructors and at least four students when they noticed he had sunk to the bottom. Two instructors pulled him from the water and performed CPR, while another called for an ambulance. Rampersad, who was married and had two sons, was an immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago who worked a day job with a title insurance company. He had more than a decade of experience diving and often trained new scuba instructors. "His skills were excellent, topnotch," Simmons said. "He was very, very certified." Rampersad had explored shipwrecks in the Atlantic off the New Jersey coast and dived in the Florida Keys. Friends called him a friendly person who was always smiling. "He loved the water," Simmons said. "He just lived to dive." Originally published on May 9, 2005 > He had more than a decade of experience diving and often trained new > scuba instructors. "His skills were excellent, topnotch," Simmons said. > "He was very, very certified." ummm... okay... > Anyone have any info on an instructor who died at a High School pool > on Long Island while testing out equipment? i heard it on the news > this morning but couldn't find anything more. http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/308000p-263543c.html He was diving with a rebreather. > ? Anyone have any info on an instructor who died at a High School pool > ? on Long Island while testing out equipment? i heard it on the news [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > He was diving with a rebreather. When I first read Ken's post I thought to myself that the diver was using a rebreather to die in a pool. Adam > When I first read Ken's post I thought to myself that the diver was using > a rebreather to die in a pool. I thought of carbon monoxide contamination. Lee > I thought of carbon monoxide contamination. I thought, "Damn, leave it to a PADI instructor to drown in a swimming pool"... >> I thought of carbon monoxide contamination. > I thought, "Damn, leave it to a PADI instructor to drown in a swimming > pool"... Now that put a smile on my face. Thanks. > Now that put a smile on my face. Thanks. I guess I just have a different way of looking at things... Somewhat warped, I guess... > I guess I just have a different way of looking at things... Somewhat > warped, > I guess... You guess? Lee > > I thought of carbon monoxide contamination. > > I thought, > "Damn, leave it to a PADI instructor to drown in a swimming pool"... and thus you win "The Laugh of the Day Award" !! >> When I first read Ken's post I thought to myself that the diver was using a >> rebreather to die in a pool. > > I thought of carbon monoxide contamination. > > Lee That's the same type of problem, the wrong gas inhaled without the diver being aware of the problem. Adam >>> When I first read Ken's post I thought to myself that the diver was >>> using a rebreather to die in a pool. >> I thought of carbon monoxide contamination. > That's the same type of problem, the wrong gas inhaled without the diver > being aware of the problem. Yes, but in a diving forum, it is a lot less politically charged issue. As you're aware, there are elements of the industry that are strongly against routine recreational use of rebreathers of any kind and closed circuit, computer controlled rebreathers in particular. To them, a problem with a rebreather is the diver's fault, first for using one (may or may not be a valid point) and second, for failing to ensure it was used safely (almost certainly a valid point). If there was a potentially fatal problem with the rebreather, it should have been resolved above the surface rather than below it. It might have been difficult and probably would have been expensive, but not as expensive as being dead. Most often, a carbon monoxide death is the fault of somebody other than the diver. That's a pretty significant difference. I don't want to make a big deal out of this, I just found it interesting that somebody assumed the death was due to rebreather before we knew that is involved one. I also found it interesting that a PADI instructor was using a rebreather in the first place. I was not aware that PADI supported rebreather use and, next to GUE, PADI is the most stringent of the agencies when it comes to setting rules for their instructors, dive shops and members. Unless I'm way off base regarding PADI's position on rebreathers, this was a pretty clear case of "do as I say, not as I do" and it was done in the presence of a group of student divers. While we prefer to learn from the mistakes of others, we would rather those mistakes did not result in death or serious injury. Lee >>>> When I first read Ken's post I thought to myself that the diver was using a >>>> rebreather to die in a pool. [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > Lee I see your point. A few years ago an experienced diver died in San Diego trying a rebreather made from a kit, in 30 ft water. Adam > I also found it interesting that a PADI instructor was using a rebreather > in the first place. I was not aware that PADI supported rebreather use [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > mistakes of others, we would rather those mistakes did not result in death > or serious injury. http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/rec/continue/rebreather.asp http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/rec/continue/dragerray.asp >> I also found it interesting that a PADI instructor was using a rebreather >> in the first place. I was not aware that PADI supported rebreather use [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> the mistakes of others, we would rather those mistakes did not result in >> death or serious injury. http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/rec/continue/rebreather.asp > http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/rec/continue/dragerray.asp That's twice in one day, Greg. I think I'll shut up now. Lee > That's twice in one day, Greg. I think I'll shut up now. I don't mean to pick on you, but no one else is saying much lately. I figured PADI would want to make a buck off rebreathers now that plenty of liveaboards and dive resorts offer classes and rentals. The lighthouse sounded like a great government job to me. Getting paid to sit on top of a reef doing nothing all day but watching a light slowly spin around, getting a quick dive in on my extended coffee breaks. I was looking for an address to send in my application when I realized it was unmanned. Maybe we can petition Florida to man it and then you can do your mailbox and I can have my dream job. > I figured PADI would want to make a buck off rebreathers now that plenty of > liveaboards and dive resorts offer classes and rentals. It is not even the _latest_ thrive. They offer rebreather classes for Dolphin and Ray, in union with a strange company called NRC ( New Rebreather Council), and offer Nitrox for free to save their somewhat limited customers from the dangerous depths. The quality of these programs and instructors tries to compete with the aptitude of average customer. The deal is not to sell rebreathers, sodalime, service, but to profit from the once-never-again rebreather tryoutfor100USD customer. Matthias >> I figured PADI would want to make a buck off rebreathers now that >> plenty of liveaboards and dive resorts offer classes and rentals. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > The deal is not to sell rebreathers, sodalime, service, but to profit > from the once-never-again rebreather tryoutfor100USD customer. And that... sounds about right. Does anyone know what model/make of rebreather in question ? >> ? Anyone have any info on an instructor who died at a High School pool >> ? on Long Island while testing out equipment? i heard it on the news [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Adam >> He was diving with a rebreather. > > When I first read Ken's post I thought to myself that the diver was using a > rebreather to die in a pool. Me too; it had to be a rebreather. |
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