Titanic Submersible Rescue

Well there is a child involved, so I hope they are rescued. But...

Apparently they are billionaires, who didn't mind paying a quarter of a million for a jolly. So it's misadventure really, similar to one of those billionaires' rockets blowing up.

They should have just gone to the costas for a week instead.

 

2+ miles below the surface in something that looks like it was put together in someone's garage ? My thoughts are, there's no way I would have considered taking part in such a trip. I wonder how many previous successful trips they have done ? Can't be ar5ed to check....
They may have other units but I doubt they can help raising the sunken unit and it's not as though they can just hop from one unit to the other down there....and who could drive it....and who would want to after seeing what has happened to the first ??
The odds aren't looking great sadly....

 

5 billionaires gets more news than the boat full of people hoping for a better life that sunk on route to Italy. That about sums it up

 

I agree with all the comments, it’s pure human folly. Madness.

However, it’s a hellish fate they have brought on themselves and the son. It makes me very sad to think of it.

 

A Canadian plane flying over the Atlantic claims to have heard banging noises. What from a sub 2 miles below the surface of the Atlantic. Surely a vessel that can survive the pressure down at the wreck would not give off the sound of someone thumping from inside. To be detectable to a plane overhead. Is technology now that good?

 

I can't understand why they haven't called International Rescue yet. Thunderbird 4 is ideal for this kind of scenario

 

I would expect that the plane dropped a floating detector which radios the circling aircraft. (As naval helicopters do when hunting submarines.) Also, water being dense, sound travels through it very well. So, I can believe knocking sounds have been heard, though the description of how that was done is inadequate.

 

This question was asked on ARRSE and the answer is even more tragic than this week's events. Remember the Kursk submarine disaster? Well, at the time, those ITK were saying that the 'rescue' of the stranded matelots was highly likely as the Russian Navy had a titanium (remember the Soviets were, for decades, the only ones who could produce and work with large fabrications made from Ti metal) highly manoeuvrable large submersible craft that could operate at extreme depths (over 4km) for extended periods. In the chaos of the 90's it was sold by an 'enterprising' Russian - guess who to...

ARRSE discussion from here.

 

The fact that they can possibly hear banging would mean that the sub is on or near the surface. There is no way it could be picked up from the ocean floor at that depth.
The thing that could cost them their lives is that the thing isn't painted luminous orange.

 

Exactly this, it’s probably a couple of hundred metres down and just can’t be seen. The whole design of the damn thing is just bonkers.

 

The answer to most of your questions is the same: greedy, reckless men operating in under-regulated US industry.

 

Tend to agree that this is one of those risks like the Bluebird on Coniston or SpaceX - tragic as it is.

The Titanic was literally just imaged to the most amazing detail. That should have put an end to expeditions.

 

A huge slice of the BBC news bulletin devoted to this story tonight.

 

Surprised they didn't give us a full weather forecast for the mid-Atlantic.

 

From the ARRSE:

And someone remembered their training:

 

Debris field found. Seems to point to it have gone pop, which @Bwood_Horn’s post suggests is a merciful end.

Seems like an inefficient way to get rid of billionaires though. Can’t we just bring back the guillotine?

 

That’s that then.

At least it would have been so instantaneously quick that they wouldn’t have known what happened.

It just goes to show that these regulations are in place for a reason.

 

Not sure why so much airtime is being given to an adventure that went wrong.

 

Because it seems 5 lives were lost. Not worth a little attention? Titanic has always attracted news interest too.

 

When you say “a little attention “ do you mean on ever news channel 24/7. 5 people knew the risks of this adventure and volunteered for it.

 

I agree but rescue stories seem to strike a particular emotional chord. See Chilean miners, children surviving Amazon plane crash etc etc.

There’s even a bioethical concept of “the rule of rescue” which refers to “the imperative to save individual lives even when money might be more efficiently spent to prevent deaths in the larger population”.

None of this is very rational.

 

Always going to be a punt if you go down 2 miles under water in this thing that was made out of carbon fibre

 

I heard on one of the early radio reports that 'passengers' sign a fairly extensive waiver before embarking on a 'voyage'.

As I said before - the Titan was a (very good?) piece of Soviet/Russian tech. I wonder if the extensive number of rescue teams (and US state involvement) was more to do with gaining salvage rights rather than saving the 'adventurers'?

 

Serious question here - what regulatory bodies? Who regulates people who want to go to sea in a vessel?

 

It's an unusual situation. Couple a race against time to rescue people before their air runs out with a horrifying, helpless scenario in the deep sea and you have a story that is guaranteed to capture public interest, really.

 

I’m hearing that the sub suffered a catastrophic implosion

 

Debris field located and reports that a piece of the tail was observed in the field (take with a pinch of salt).

Likely scenario is the sub imploded and everyone died instantly. They probably didn't have time to even register that anything happened.

 

I read a book on the Kursk not long after it happened.

Horrible.

The charming man I sat next to today at Susheel and Mark's wedding,Hugh,said that a member of the Maceys family was married to one on board of the submersible.

Her great grandparents were on the Titanic Hugh said and went down with it, refusing a lifeboat.

 

Disasters like this always draw attention and you can’t blame the news agency’s from focusing on it. I really dislike the fact that the sinking in Greece however didn’t get the same coverage, which was a huge tragedy compared to this very individual event.

Deeply feel for the families involved, but the whole thing should never have happened. I love a good adventure, and I’m not above taking a calculated risk. But this doesn’t seem calculated, it seems reckless and irresponsible.