Australian diver missing presumed dead
 

Apologies if posted elsewhere....

Saw a write-up in the West Australian a few days ago about a bloke originally from Perth, Dave Shaw (CX Capt) attempting to recover the body of a diver from a cave in South Africa.

Thought was a great thing he was doing for that guy's family - so they could bury their son....

Heard the tail end of a news item last night that he too had gone missing in the cave, wasn't sure if I had heard right. A search of the internet news confirmed it. He is missing presumed dead. :mad:

Hoping like hell it is just a mistake but it doesn't look good. :(

Thought would post it here as hadn't seen anything about it, and he is a pilot.

Damn shame, like we need more sadness these days.

Sympathies to his family.

Sky

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_...5E1702,00.html

Cpt. David Shaw - Diving accident
 

Cathay Pacific C & T Captain David Shaw (Aussie) has disappeared while deep cave diving in South Africa on the weekend. While we are waiting further news the likelhood of him been found would require a miracle.



David had his own website, check it out.

www.deepcave.com

Pink

News story

I knew David Shaw from his Ag flying days in Moree, NSW.

Very sad news for his family. My thoughts are with them.

Troup

Further article which appeared in The West Australian this morning.

Article

What a shame this is. Someone just trying to do a favour for someone else.

Sympathies to his wife and kids, and of course the rest of the family.

Sky

What an amazingly compassionate man, a sad loss, condolences to his family.

More here for those interested.

RIP, HH.

:(

Recovery
 

It has been reported that the remains of both Mr Dreyer and Mr Shaw have now been recovered from the cave, contrary to expectation.

I suppose it was the best that could be hoped for in the circumstances :( At least now they can have some closure.

Condolences again for all families.

Details of service in the Collie article.

Collie Mail

Also some more info on the recovery in the Australian .

Seems Dave Shaw completed his mission even though he lost his own life.

RIP, HH.

:{

Was Dave with AN before 89?

RIP

did they use Industrial divers to recover their bodies?

my condolences to his family.

From what I understand, both Mr Shaw and Mr Dreyer were found beneath the surface after having come free from whatever was keeping them at the bottom.

Police were reportedly considering to attempt recovery, but then they were found while the dive equipment was being removed from the cave.

The West Australian ran an article today, but it doesn't seem to be in their online version.

I am sure someone on here will know if Mr Shaw was ex-AN. I recall there was a website that listed some ex employees, but I don't think it is online any longer.

Sky

No, he was not ex Ansett or Australian pre 89'...
not that that should matter!

if both bodies were found at a mid depth, then he must have made it to the bottom and recovered the body, just as he promised he would.
wether he is ex AN is irrelevent, he died doing something he loved and he completed his mission. now both families can get closure and peace of mind.

Dave was with Pelair on the Westwind prior to him joining CX in 89. He was an extremely talented pilot and a pleasure to fly with as all those that did would surely remember, be they from his ag day, Pelair days or the last 15 years in CX. A very sad loss indeed. Best wishes to Anne and the family.

Thank you bizjet I knew I had met him somewhere.

Excerpt from today's Sunday Times (Perth):

RIP :(

Sky

bizjet,

thanks for clearing that up. I have been offline for nearly a week and have only just read the other posts and was not able to respond to clarify the AN stuff.

Cheers,

ST

David will certainly be missed, he was admired by many, a Hero! Was with MAF 70's- early 80's in PNG.

His memory will live on!

I saw a mention of the AS program in the paper last night, managed to see the last 15-20mins.

I have to say here how brave it is of his family to do such a program so soon after the sad event. It's really nice to see that they appreciate the fact that this was who Cpt Shaw was and what he loved doing. All you see is love and admiration for the husband and father.

That camera footage was just heartbreaking, and I really felt for his dive team waiting back up at the top. What a professional team they were - even though they knew it had gone terribly wrong and they had lost their friend, they all pulled together to try save Don Shirley. What truly committed people.

And it's nice to see that they won't give up doing what they love, just as their friend would have wanted them to continue.

Saw the doco last night, the footage was very very sad to watch. A very brave act to repeat for the family of the man he saved.

Although it may not be the most appropriate forum for a discussion on the subject, it did raise a point discussed by others Ive spoken to about taking such risks when you have a loving caring family and a prosperous successful life.

Dave did more with his 50 than most people would do in twice that many years.

One can take issue with the risks he took but not the reasons he took them.

He is sorely missed.