Missing Titanic submarine: Five things that may have gone wrong

*UPDATE: Since this video was published, the US Coastguard announced debris from the submarine has been found near the wreck of the Titanic. Experts believe it suffered a catastophic implosion.*

Missing Titanic submarine: Five things that may have gone wrong. It is another mystery of the deep.

As hopes fade for the five wealthy Titanic tourists who vanished while exploring the wreck aboard a mini submarine – one question keeps being asked.

What happened?

It is possible that no one will ever know after the sub, called Titan, suddenly went silent hundreds of miles off the coast of Canada and around 13,000ft underwater beside the Titanic.

On board were five men including a British billionaire, one of Pakistan’s richest men and his son, a famed French explorer, and the CEO of the company running the dive.

But submarine experts agree that five possible accidents are the most likely cause.

#titanic #titanicsub #titanicsubmarine #oceangate #newfoundland #titan

[xth]

The one potential passenger who decided not to go on the trip made the greatest decision he ever will have for his entire life.

[damianshells]

Ocean Gate is literally a mile from where I work in a aerospace dominated complex. The company tried to integrate aircraft technology with submersive technology. I'm no scientist but air and water are two different things. The CEO fired someone for bringing up safety concerns. He paid with his life and took others in the process. Imagine being the guy that brought up the safety concerns. It's apparent billions of dollars can't buy you common sense

[pravashi_]

I feel bad for the 19 year old who did not want to go there at all but had to because of his father :(
Rest in peace 🕊️

[jacksonbarinowski]

The former employee didn't quit--he got fired for pointing out its flaws. He wrote and published his concerns, and was called into a meeting the next day and when he refused to greenlight the project's continuation, the company booted him. Very suspicious.

[cmd]

Knowing you only have 96 hours of oxygen in a tiny submarine and relying on batteries and a gaming controller to operate the vessel your inside is beyond insane

[javieremoya]

I think this serves as an important case study for how to not undertake inherently risky travel:
1) the vehicle was not officially approved by any maritime agency

2) there was no on-board communications save for a continuous ping bc the CEO “did not like getting interrupted by topside”

3) having inconsistent framework…the hull allegedly has a depth range of 4000m while the front glass only had 1300m (they were going 3x that depth)

4) they used a carbon fiber pressure hull…carbon fiber doesn’t crack, it shatters

5) they had no on board navigational systems

6) they controlled the submersible with a wireless Logitech game controller so that “anyone can operate the sub”

7) the CEO fired the guy who raised safety concerns

[MyFatherIsTryingToKillMe]

The Titanic sank over 100 years ago and it's still killing people. Time to leave that ship alone 😶

[jorgealicea]

This journey was an insane idea. 13 thousand feet ? In a small uncomfortable craft that was controlled by a $30 remote control toy ? An incredible tragedy.

[ReveredDead]

My two biggest fears. Claustrophobia and fear of the ocean. Both relevant here has been a complete nightmare fuel for me.

[roubanashabe]

What's worse than facing death is having to see your child facing it!

[courtneydillon]

Out of all fatal outcomes, I would hope it was a catastrophic implosion. Every other possibility sounds like a horrible nightmare. I can only imagine the emotions the 5 individuals may be experiencing right now if they are in fact alive and stuck in the wreckage. Terrifying to know that as we talk about the terror of being stuck, they may be living it.

Turns out it was a catastrophic implosion, my heart goes out to the families.

[essentialist]

Unfortunately, the CEO was not taking this project seriously in the first place. Imagine pricing your sub trip to the Titanic as $250, 000 dollars, and having a measly video game controller as the steering wheel. This project was a scam, I don't see any "mysteries" here.

[NookBoo]

I live on the base of a 14, 000ft mountain. Looking at the peak from the base, send chills through my bones to actually think how far up, or down, that really is.

[williamhealy]

The dude who backed out because of ocean gate cutting corners has one of the biggest "i told you so"s ever

[zb]

Can't imagine being under there in total darkness and such a small capsule with 5 people so claustrophobic.

[markstewart]

Those lost souls resting in the titanic did not want to be disturbed, some things are better left as they are...R.I. P to those poor men🙏!!

[ID_No_xxxxx]

Why giving a small vessel diving around the ill-fated Titanic the name "Titan" is beyond me. I'm not superstitious but some things associated with tragedies are best left unrepeated.

[e-rod]

Paying $250K and risking your life just to see a wreckage of a ship at the bottom of the ocean. I cannot see how this can appealing to me. Prayers for the passengers.

[mikeunger]

I've been 1000 feet down in a 2 man submarine. There is no natural light at all after about 160 feet. I descended along an underwater cliff. I cannot describe the feeling of timelessness that exists over much of the earth's surface. In my experience I told myself that I had to accept that if something went wrong on that excursion I would likely die instantaneously (in the case of implosion for sure). My heart goes out to the 5 souls that are currently missing.

[nickdellow]

The design of Titan's hull is unconventional. The main cylindrical part of the hull is made of a carbon fibre composite (most likely carbon fibre in an epoxy resin matrix). Such composites can break or shatter when compressed, especially if pushed beyond their capabilities with repeated cycling under high pressure. Indeed, the company noticed degradation of the hull after a number of missions and apparently reassigned the depth limit from 4000 m to 3000 m as a result, though they did not put these details on their website and continued to dive to greater than 3000 m (the Titanic is at 3800 m).

Other submersibles that can reach these extreme depths (these they are often military or government agency owned) are made of a titanium alloy and have a shape that allows better distribution of the extreme pressures around the hull. Moreover, metal is a more 'forgiving' substrate than carbon fibre composites, and titanium has far better ductility that of carbon fibre composites (which have very poor ductility, a factor that can lead to catastrophic failure if flaws are present), even at low temperatures. The other potential problem with the hull design is that the carbon fibre composite cylinder section and the titanium alloy front and back ends ('caps') obviously need to be joined/sealed together. I don't know how there were sealed, but the high pressures and low temperatures found at such deep levels may have created significant stress factors between the metal and composite at the seal/join interface.

The other issue of course concerns the lack of certification and independently verified testing and safety procedures for Titan. The US Marine Technology Society wrote a letter to OceanGate's CEO Stockton Rush before Titan's first dive, expressing its concerns about the lack of safety measures and qualified testing procedures. OceanGate ignored these, most significantly the DNV-GL safety standard. DNV-GL certification ensures that ships and submarines, or their components, comply with a number of standards, also known as class rules. These classes take into account safety, reliability and environmental impact criteria. The letter stated: "Our apprehension is that the current experimental approach adopted by OceanGate could result in negative outcomes (from minor to catastrophic) that would have serious consequences for everyone in the industry." This warning proved to be prophetic, sadly.

What drove OceanGate's stance in ignoring the call for it to meet industry standard protocols? Perhaps it was the fact that OceanGate is a commercial company making profits by taking wealthy people and film companies etc to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean, and indeed that was the reason why such a risky hull design was necessary in the first place. Safer deep sea submersibles with all-titanium hulls can only carry one or two people....and there was no profit potential for OceanGate in adopting such a design.