Titan sub debris field: Parts of missing sub's cover found, expert says

BBC ^ | 6.22.2023

[libh8er]

Debris has been found in the search for the missing Titan submersible, reportedly including parts of its outside cover. Dive expert David Mearns told the BBC the president of the Explorers Club - which is connected to the diving and rescue community - says the debris includes "a landing frame and a rear cover from the submersible". The US Coast Guard earlier confirmed a "debris field" had been found within the search area. It was located by a remote-controlled underwater search vehicle (ROV) near the wreck of the Titanic. A US Coast Guard news conference is scheduled for 1500 EST (1900 GMT) on Thursday afternoon. The Titan vessel went missing in a remote area of the North Atlantic on Sunday with a four-day oxygen supply for its crew of five.

Some experts have speculated that it could have suffered a catastrophic implosion as a result of a hull failure. The minivan-sized submersible was owned and operated by the private company OceanGate Expeditions. The firm's co-founder, Guillermo Söhnlein, told the BBC that he believes there may have been an "instantaneous implosion" of the craft. "If that's what happened, that's what would have happened four days ago," he said.

[NeverTyranny]

I hate to say this, and God please forgive me but what a pompous ass.

[matt04]

Sounds like the tail where all the batteries, oxygen tanks, etc. were was found intact but not the cabin portion where the crew was.

[Revel]

Sorry... I think that is the wrong link. I got tricked. It is from yesterday.

[matt04]

Yep. I have a feeling when it lost contact and never regained contact was when it imploded.

[Revel]

I think this is it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYXHnruTguM

[matt04]

If it imploded, they likely felt noting as it took onnly a few milliseconds.

[FreeReign]

“Debris field” implies an implosion. Which means death was almost instantaneous. So really not such a horrible way to go. The alternative is what would have been HORRIBLE. Sitting cross-legged for 3 days with no toilet all while gradually running out of oxygen. That would have been unimaginably horrible.

I wonder if they did indeed sit and wait for a while, and then they decided to implode.

[GingisK]

They clean up car wrecks. They clean up bus wrecks. They clean up train wrecks. They clean up airplane crash sites. Why the double standard?

[Spktyr]

It is technically possible - there is the EPIRB system for surface vessels and the “I’m Dead” ‘rescue buoy’ system for submersibles/submarines. However, I didn’t see anything indicating that the Titan was equipped with either system so I don’t know how they got such a signal either. The only thing I can think of is that they lost contact over what was basically a hydrophone modem system then they got some fragmentary packets indicating system failures - much like some recent air crashes where the aircraft’s online reporting system started sending data indicating disaster shortly before the aircraft was destroyed.

[Red Badger]

Exactly. And the Navy knew it when it happened..........

[matt04]

Yep. However, IIRC, they did have a toilet. However, I would rather be instantly crushed vs possibly have to sit it pitch black and freezing cold waiting to die.

[Spktyr]

To be fair, he was doing just fine up until that last sentence. Personally I don’t think the Titanic should have been a tourist attraction either.

[Alberta's Child]

But such a trip was no different than some of the earliest explorers who set out to sea, partly in search for riches, but also for the sake of exploration. That's a brave and noble thing.

I would say there is a huge difference between terrestrial exploration and "gratuitous" exploration in places where humans can't survive under normal conditions -- I'd include outer space, the ocean floor, and extremely high elevations in thin air as examples of this.

I once served on a corporate board with a former astronaut who was a strong advocate of continuous space exploration. He was bemused about my skepticism about travel to the moon, other planets, etc. He asked me a question commonly heard in these conversations: "What would happen if Christopher Columbus landed in North America, and then nobody ever came after him?"

My answer to that question is always the same: "If Columbus landed in North America and found that there was no oxygen here, I'm pretty sure nobody in Europe would have bothered coming over here again."

[GingisK]

No, my line of thinking is that if they requested you not touch it, don’t touch it. Character is actually measured by what you do when people aren’t watching. How do you like them apples?

[Revel]

I heard that the cover on the rear was not part of the substructure. It was just a cover that was easily removed.

[1Old Pro]

Personally I don’t think the Titanic should have been a tourist attraction either.

As long as it's respectful and a reminder of actual history I'm fine with it, same for Pearl Harbor.

[Penelope Dreadful]

Well, hate for anyone to have to die, but fortunately, we still have plenty of smug self-loathing white men left!

[matt04]

I’m sure they had some subs in the area that recorded something but had to go thru the process to verify what they found.

We know they had hast contact for short periods in other dives, say, 30 mins but after 8 hours they had to know what happened deep down.

[xp38]

Watch nerds know logic goes out the window when it comes to cool stuff watch companies create. 99.99% of dive watches never go below swimming pool depth. The tourbilon which has no practical use in modern wristwatches just looks cool and can add tens of thousands to the price of a luxury watch.

[musicman]

BTTT!!!