The U.S. Coast Guard says debris field has been found near the Titanic during search for submersible
https://apnews.com/article/missing-titanic-submersible-updates-6255308420cb542fab287224c3e9b1c1
The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday that an underwater vessel has located a debris field near the Titanic in the search for a missing submersible with five people aboard, a potential breakthrough in an increasingly urgent around-the-clock effort.
The Coast Guard’s post on Twitter gave no details, such as whether officials believe the debris is connected to the Titan, which was on an expedition to view the wreckage of the Titanic.
https://twitter.com/USCGNortheast/status/1671907901542211584
The search passed the critical 96-hour mark Thursday when breathable air could have run out. The Titan was estimated to have about a four-day supply of breathable air when it launched Sunday morning in the North Atlantic — but experts have emphasized that was an imprecise approximation to begin with and could be extended if passengers have taken measures to conserve breathable air. And it’s not known if they survived since the sub’s disappearance.
Coast Guard announces press briefing at 3pm ET to discuss debris field found by ROV near Titanic
Updates:
1:03 PM E.S.T.
A rescue expert says the debris found in the search for Titan was "a landing frame and a rear cover from the submersible"
(from Sky News)
A rescue expert says the debris found in the search for Titan was "a landing frame and a rear cover from the submersible".
David Mearns, who is friends with two of the passengers on board Titan, says he is part of a WhatsApp group involving The Explorers Club.
Mr Mearns told Sky News the president of the club, who is "directly connected" to the ships on the site, said to the group: "It was a landing frame and a rear cover from the submersible."
Mr Mearns says: "Again this is an unconventional submarine, that rear cover is the pointy end of it and the landing frame is the little frame that it seems to sit on."
He says this confirms that it is the submersible.
Mr Mearns says he knows both British billionaire Hamish Harding and the French sub pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
"It means the hull hasn't yet been found but two very important parts of the whole system have been discovered and that would not be found unless its fragmented," he added.
Mr Mearns also spoke about the fairing of the submarine - shaped like a fishtail - and said: "If the faring is off and the frame is off - then something really bad has happened to the entire structure."
"On the news that we have yet, they haven't found the hull of which the men are inside."
2:38 PM E.S.T.
Update from CNN:
Debris found in search area has been assessed to be from the external body of the Titan sub.
The debris discovered within the search area of the missing Titanic submersible has been assessed to be from the external body of the sub, according to a memo reviewed by CNN. The search for the crew capsule of the Titan vessel continues, the memo says.
The debris was located on the ocean floor, roughly 500 meters off of the bow of the Titanic, and it was located around 8:55 a.m. ET.
2:48 PM E.S.T.
CNN confirms: OceanGate released a statement saying they believe the passengers onboard the Titanic expedition submersible have “sadly been lost.”
Full statement below:
3:00 PM E.S.T.
LIVE: Coast Guard press conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrxDTVXtrTU
OWNER OF MISSING TITANIC SUB:
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We believe the crew "Have been sadly lost"
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"Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time"
U.S. COAST GUARD:
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This morning an underwater robot found the tail cone of missing sub
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Remnants were found approx. 1,600 feet from bow of Titanic on sea floor
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The debris is consistent with a catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber
Fully expected this outcome, but it's still sad to read all jokes aside. Sounds like rapid implosion from the extreme pressures is what occurred which, to me, is way better than suffocating to death at the bottom of the ocean. My best guess is a failure of the acrylic viewport.
Agreed. It sounds like both the viewport — its manufacturer wouldn't guarantee it past 1,800m the way they had it installed — and the hull itself were both potential liabilities.
I hope they nail the CEO to the wall, frankly. [edit: okay, maybe posthumously] The more info comes out, the more this disaster looks entirely foreseeable. He refused to have the sub certified despite being warned of potentially catastrophic results, fired his own director of marine operations for blowing the whistle on serious safety risks, and is on the record denouncing regulations for tourist subs for having, quote, "needlessly prioritized passenger safety".
Not a pretty picture.
I mean, he was on it.
Good point. I'd call it poetic justice, if his reckless decisions hadn't also claimed the lives of others.
The CEO was on the sub
There still may be a company that can be sued out of existence, lets hope
I mean, regardless of whether they nail the CEO to the wall, he went down with the ship anyway.
Personally my guess is that the hull shattered because it was made out of carbon fiber which fails hard when it fails.
Everything fails hard with that much ΔP.
It's hard to imagine what the transient would be like because of how extreme that delta is. Napkin math puts that depth at just under 400 atmospheres. I think once the sub lost integrity and it was exposed to those pressures, it would've happened too quick to possibly even register as a human. If so, then they would've died without ever realizing it, which is probably a kindness.