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Flying after diving


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#1 peterbj7

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Posted 26 January 2010 - 09:41 AM

I've been having a discussion with a fellow PADI Staff Instructor here in San Pedro (http://ambergriscaye...s/365131/2.html), and we seem to have an entrenched disagreement. Can anyone please tell me what the latest recommendations are, and the latest definition of "flying"? Both PADI and DAN (if they're different).

#2 Quero

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Posted 26 January 2010 - 10:43 AM

I've been having a discussion with a fellow PADI Staff Instructor here in San Pedro (http://ambergriscaye...s/365131/2.html), and we seem to have an entrenched disagreement. Can anyone please tell me what the latest recommendations are, and the latest definition of "flying"? Both PADI and DAN (if they're different).

Peter, I believe you have identified the latest recommendations already, so rather than rehash that, let me direct you to the US Navy information. I became interested in this question when diving on the Big Island of Hawaii off the Kona coast and trying to decide whether it was safe to drive over the mountain to get back to Hilo. Ultimately I chose to spend the night on the Kona side because the highest pass is at 4,000 feet and thus above the ceiling suggested by the Navy decompression documents in view of my planned dives.
NOAA/US Navy Decompression Tables and Procedures, Part III

In addition, you might point out to your colleague there who is insisting on test questions/answers that he is mixing up the guidelines for diving at altitude, which is indeed defined as anything over 1000 ft, and flying after diving. The point of specific rules for diving at altitude is mainly because of the need to either recalibrate depth gauges or extrapolate different values based on printed tables. The two sets of guidelines are not dependent on one another (and would intersect only if a diver were flying after diving at altitude).

Furthermore, you might remind your colleague that low-flying aircraft are the transport means of choice for transferring injured divers in need of recompression treatments from distant locations to hyperbaric chambers. Often these are choppers, but sometimes small planes.

Finally, the new Navy tables are no longer restricted to saturation diving as they were in the past. There are new (1999) no-decompression tables and other updated materials that are in line with similar tables issued by recreational dive training agencies. NOAA guidelines are commonly used for research divers, volunteers, and others who are not young, buff members of the military.

Edited by Quero, 26 January 2010 - 11:00 AM.

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#3 ScubaShafer

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Posted 26 January 2010 - 10:54 AM

Well, Peter, in the past, guidelines for flying after diving were quite varied. For example, a single no-stop dive, the U.S. Navy recommended a 2-hour surface interval time (SIT), DAN recommended 12 hours SIT, the U.S. Air Force recommended 24 hours SIT, and the U.S. Army still requires a 24 hour SIT for its aviators.

From the DAN web site:
Data was presented at a Flying After Diving Workshop at DAN in May 2002 and the following guidelines were the consensus. They apply to air dives followed by flights at cabin altitudes of 2,000 to 8,000 feet (610 to 2,438 meters) for divers who do not have symptoms of decompression sickness (DCS). The recommended preflight surface intervals do not guarantee avoidance of DCS. Longer surface intervals will reduce DCS risk further. For a single no-decompression dive, a minimum preflight surface interval of 12 hours is suggested. For dives requiring decompression stops, there is little evidence on which to base a recommendation and a preflight surface interval substantially longer than 18 hours appears prudent. (http://www.diversale...fad/results.asp)

From the PADI PRO website:
Current Flying After Diving Guidelines

The Flying After Diving Workshop held in May 2002, in Durham, North Carolina, USA, produced some new flying after diving recommendations. These new recommendations should be implemented in all PADI courses and programs and will be incorporated into training materials as they come up for reprint. They apply both to Recreational Dive Planner and dive computer guided dives and are important for anyone considering dive travel.

Recommendations of the 2002 Flying After Diving Workshop

General Comments

Recent experimental trials indicate the risk of decompression sickness (DCS) decreases as the preflight surface interval increases. Based on these studies, the Workshop reached the following consensus recommendations. These recommendations apply to flights at cabin altitudes between 600 metres/2000 feet and 2400 metres/8000 feet and to divers who are without DCS symptoms. Work by Buehlmann, which was used by the US Navy Diving manual, suggests that immediate ascent to 600 metres/2000 feet altitude is possible with low DCS risk. In 1999, the US Navy adopted more flexible procedures based, in part on Buehlmann and Vann et al. Following these recommendations reduces DCS risk but does not guarantee that a diver will avoid DCS.

For Dives within the No-Decompression Limits

Single Dives - A minimum preflight surface interval of 12 hours is suggested.

Repetitive Dives and/or Multiday Dives - A minimum preflight surface interval of 18 hours is suggested.

For Dives Requiring Decompression Stops

A minimum preflight surface interval greater than 18 hours is suggested.


Flying after diving recommendations need not be considered for flights to ambient/cabin pressures less than 600 metres/2000 feet.
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#4 WreckWench

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Posted 26 January 2010 - 11:30 AM

Thank you! This question comes up regularly on dive trips with respect to when someone can safely dive last and then catch a flight. Many opt for the 24 hr rule which is always prudent however depending on dive profiles and conservatism of the diver's diving...18 hours can be acceptable even after multi-day dives.

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#5 peterbj7

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Posted 26 January 2010 - 12:18 PM

Thanks all! You confirmed that my notions were in fact correct.

Since as WW says others may look to this thread for guidance, let me amplify my thoughts slightly. Note that the DAN statement refers to flying by people not exhibiting any signs of DCS. This is critical. People vary greatly in their susceptibility to DCS, and an individual's vulnerability varies greatly depending on age, sex (esp. wrt menopausal women), hydration, general fitness and BMI, and a random factor! One person might break all the rules and get away with it. Another might follow the guidelines conservatively and get bent. These rules are as applicable to an individual as a dive computer is (and for much the same reasons).

Writing as someone who has "pushed the envelope" a great deal, and done what to most people are mega-deep dives, I strongly recommend that you start off very conservatively and only gradually extend your exposure. Read up on "hidden" symptoms esp those coming from micro-bubbles and learn to recognise the early signs in yourself. And above all, don't drink alcohol before diving - a good rule is to leave at least 24 hours after any heavy drinking, and 12 after even moderate drinking - the effects of alcohol are longer-lasting than most people realise (think of people who've been breathalysed on the way into work in the morning, and fail). Keep well hydrated - the single most important factor for everyone. Avoid mind-bending drugs, or at least ensure you've been "normal" for 24 hours prior to diving.

Anything else I've forgotten?




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