I'm not claiming to be an expert diver, but I've done about 40 dives including 3 cenotes (cave dives). It's hard for me to imagine why anyone would think this was anything other than a shit idea.

I mean...fuck diving, or cave certification, or anything like that. It's hard to believe that the person who came up with this has ever been swimming before.

Pretend you're swimming through a cave. It has a little bend:

L

You, as a flexible human being, can wiggle through that "L." This thing, the rigid "l" is going to get stuck in the corner. It can't bend. It can't wiggle. It can only get stuck there in the black water while people are tugging at both ends and the air runs out.

Other problems off the top of my head:

• How does the kid signal distress if a seam leaks?
• But, really, who cares if the kid can signal that there's a problem? If the kid's regulator fails, he can share with one of the 2 escort divers. If this thing leaks, he drowns.
• It hasn't really been tested. That pool doesn't count. It can't be tested in the time remaining. Dive equipment has a zillion hours of testing (and lawsuits) behind it. It's well-seasoned engineering.
• Cave diving equipment is redundant. This thing doesn't look redundant to me.

Nothing about this idea would make the situation easier or safer for anyone involved.