Recommendations for flying after diving
Please note that I have reproduced this information, please do not rely on it and seek proper medical advice.
I hope it helps.
Copy of the Diving Medical Advisory
Committee for Association of Offshore Diving
Contractors memo of March 1982.
Introduction
In response to a request from helicopter operators, and subsequently the AODC,DMAC was
asked to consider what restrictive conditions should be applied to flying after diving. A
workshop with international representation from the aviation and diving medical
communities was convened at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on 18th and 19th
January 1982, to establish the basic scientific principles and to use them to build up a
rational and acceptable set of guidelines.
The full proceedings will contain a review of the evidence which lead to these
recommendations, and will be published in due course, but the following report summarises
the conclusions and recommendations which were reached.
For the purposes of this review, it was considered that diving could be divided into two
categories,viz;-
1.Air aand nitrox diving
2.Mixed gas diving
In addition the workshop considered the special problems of air transport after dysbaric
illness.
Two maxima of cabin altitude were considered.,
a.2000
b.8000
Air diving
Time before flying at cabins altitude
2000 8000
No stop dives 2hrs 4hrs
Total time under pressure less than 60 mins
within previous 12 hours
All other air diving
12hrs 12hrs
(less than 4 hours under pressure)
Air or nitrox saturation
24hrs 48hrs*
(more than 4 hours under pressure)
*Experience in this range is extremely limited, and this recommendation should be
interpreted with caution.
MIXED GAS DIVING ( Diver on air at sea level)
No flying at all for at least 12 hours following return to atmospheric pressure following
heliox and trimix bounce and saturation diving.
Decompression illness in flight
In addition, the workshop considered the problem of decompression illness occurring during
a scheduled flight, They recommended the following procedures:-
Where the diver’s symptoms consist only of pain in a limb, he should be treated with
analgesics, oxygen if available, and the plane can continue to its destination without
diversion or adjustment in altitude.
When the diver has any other symptoms, immediate advice should be sought from a diving
medical specialist. It maybe necessary to reduce the cabin altitude or divert to the nearest
airport. In the meantime, the patient should be given oxygen if available.