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Forgetting to watch the time and staying down too long.
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Using air quicker than planned due to overshooting depth, getting caught in a current, getting lost, nitrogen narcosis, diving in cold water, getting caught in kelp or fishing line.
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Sudden regulator malfunction due to corrosion or too much time between overhaul.
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O-ring failure on any of the First stage regulator ports.
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Regulator stuck in "free-flow" due to foreign particles or sand.
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Regulator "freezing up" in cold water leaving you suddenly without air.
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Stuck Pressure Gauge reflecting incorrect pressure in your tank.
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Air cut off due to tank valve not turned on all the way.
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Rupture of SCUBA tank o-ring due to misalignment or wear.
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Second stage regulator diaphragm develops a tear or slips out of place.
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O-ring failure on BC air inflator or valve stuck in the open position.
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Burst disc failure on SCUBA Tank valve due to corrosion or age.
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Clogged filter on first stage regulator due to sediment or rust from tank.
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Leak develops at any one of the High or Low pressure hose fittings.
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Mouthpiece on second stage suddenly coming off regulator.
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O-ring failure on pressure gauge.
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Rupture of either High or Low Pressure hoses.
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O-ring failure on Octopus regulator.
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Rental tank not filled completely.
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Damaged First stage regulator due to falling object / impact.
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High or Low pressure hose cut or severed on sharp rock / impediment.
| Dive Training, July 2002
Air Sharing and Out-of-Air Emergencies by Lynn Laymon
"Sharing air is a safe and feasible alternative when both the donor and recipient are trained, proficient and practiced…and the donor has plenty of air to share. However, this is seldom the case. Many experienced divers would rather risk their lives making a solo emergency ascent than share air with someone they don't know or have little confidence in. And don't expect to find every diver willing to share air with you, especially if he is not your buddy and doesn't know you. Diving accident statistics reveal a sobering fact about cases in which one diver runs out of air and seeks help from another diver. If one diver dies, both divers often die. Sharing air is serious business."
Rodale's Scuba Diving, September 2000
Gearing Up for Going Down
"If you run out of air at depth you'll be glad your buddy's octopus is a high-performance regulator. It is, isn't it? In reality, your buddy is probably low on air too, and his octopus won't do you much good. That's why many deep divers use a completely redundant air source - a pony bottle and regulator or Spare Air."
Rodale's Scuba Diving, November/December 1998
Solo Diving Facts and Fears by John Francis
"The buddy system can foster a false sense of security. Being a buddy does entail the responsibility to attempt rescue, perhaps at danger to yourself. The co-dependent diver syndrome is, in fact, one of the strongest objections to the buddy system. No one intends it, but the buddy system can foster the dangerous idea that somebody else knows better and will take care of you."
Dive Training, October 2000
Waiting to Inhale by Robert Rossier
"Regardless of whom you're diving with, real friends may be hard to find when you're out of air at 100 feet."
Scuba Times, May/June 1994
Running on Empty by Bret Gilliam
"Sadly the record of double fatalities for divers engaged in buddy breathing is disproportionately high."
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Last but certainly not least: Over 207,000 pieces of life support equipment have been recalled in the last 25 years. Of those, 181,000 have been since 1995, and in the last 2 years alone, there have been 60,000 pieces of equipment recalled.
(Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.)
Has any of your SCUBA equipment been recalled? Check out our SCUBA Equipment Recall List
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