Heard a dive supervisor say 'just ignore the pressure gauge' on a job last month

I was gearing up on a bridge pier inspection in Seattle last month and overheard this guy telling his tender that the pressure gauge on his bailout bottle was stuck at 3000 psi and to just keep going. No joke. He said he'd been running dives like that for weeks. I called out the dive shop right then and the supervisor got pulled off rotation. Taking shortcuts on life support gear is how people end up dead. Has anyone else seen stuff like this slip through on their crews?

2 comments

2 Comments

robinc661mo ago

Did the guy also suggest ignoring the "check engine" light on a helicopter? Makes me wonder how bad his field hygiene is if he thinks stuck gauges are a suggestion. I'd bet money he thought running out of air was a management problem too. Some folks treat life support like it's an optional accessory.

elizabeth_gonzalez1mo ago

Well hold on now, I see it a little different. Sometimes in the field you gotta make tough calls about what's critical and what's just a bad instrument. A stuck gauge doesn't always mean a real problem, especially if you've got backup readings from other systems. Ignoring the check engine light on a helicopter? That's a whole different level of stupid, no argument there. But in a survival situation or when gear is old and beat up, you learn to read the equipment not just the lights and dials. Field hygiene is about knowing your gear inside out, not just following every warning like gospel. I'm not saying ignore real danger, but sometimes a stuck needle is just a stuck needle and you move on.