Always Do a Buddy Check

When David Pleace, 57, entered the water to dive the wreck of the SMS Brummer is Scotland's Scapa Flow in the Summer of 2021, he was unaware that the direct feed to his wing-style BC was not connected properly and was thus possibly unable to control his buoyancy. So decided the Coroner's inquest in the casualty's home town of Derby this September. The deceased diver's body was found just 60 feet from the wreck. It highlights the essential nature of equipment checks before diving.

The coroner said that it was not entirely clear what checks Mr Pleace personally took, but that fewer checks took place on this dive because experienced divers tend to do fewer team checks. However, some other divers have taken issue with the Coroner's conclusion since any diver should have been able to reconnect a direct-feed hose and wearing a drysuit in the cold waters of Scapa Flow, Pleace would have had an alternative method of buoyancy control available. Were both his direct-feeds not connected?