Anyone else watching this unfold???
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Missing Sub
- Thread starter scott43
- Start date
Nope... I had no idea... but looking at it now.
Missing Titanic submersible live updates: Texts show OceanGate CEO dismissed concerns
Live updates on the search for the missing Titanic tourist submersible.
abcnews.go.com
June 20, 2023 Missing Titanic sub search news
Banging sounds were heard Tuesday during the search for the missing Titan submersible, according to an internal US government memo. Follow for live news updates.
Thread Starter
TS
I mean. Fingers crossed..
Diving on the Titanic for fun ranks right up there with climbing Everest for fun. I'm having a hard time getting worked up over this, though hoping for a good outcome (and major compensation for the SAR teams). Lots of sympathy for the families though.
Paying that much money to see a ship wreck on the bottom of the North Atlantic does not sound like a lot of fun. But each to their own. Hope there is light at the end of this story.
Five people perhaps 1000's of feet underwater in a vessel the size of a mini-van? Not something I'd do voluntarily, even for a small fraction of the cost. Hoping for the best.
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2015
- Posts
- 25,010
Little relationship to climbing Everest, though that keeps getting worse.
Even at $250k/person, the sub company was losing money, last year anyway. I think people assume because it’s been done many times the risks are low.
Sub has 4 days of air at best. I don’t see this working out. It has no way to navigate, it got text msgs from the surface ship as standard proceedure. If the thing hasn’t surfaced by now, I can’t see how it will.
It’ll likely be like the Malaysian plane, never found. Instead of searching for the Titanic, you’re searching for something the size of one lifeboat. I suppose the area they’d be looking is relatively small.
Even at $250k/person, the sub company was losing money, last year anyway. I think people assume because it’s been done many times the risks are low.
Sub has 4 days of air at best. I don’t see this working out. It has no way to navigate, it got text msgs from the surface ship as standard proceedure. If the thing hasn’t surfaced by now, I can’t see how it will.
It’ll likely be like the Malaysian plane, never found. Instead of searching for the Titanic, you’re searching for something the size of one lifeboat. I suppose the area they’d be looking is relatively small.
Thread Starter
TS
I guess..for me..even if I were wealthy I wouldn't be looking to do that. Like, let's see a track record of safety please! Even with wealth I have family... Not going to let them down so easily. Having said that, they're either more brave or more stupid than me.. I can't imagine they're more stupid...cuz I'm pretty stupid... Heart-breaking for the families..
I've been reviewing articles on this in the Washington Post and other news sites.
There have been various comments here comparing this to Mt. Everest and I think there are some parallels. Rich people can hire guides to get to the North Pole, Everest and now the bottom of the oceans. The ends of the Earth have long been reserved for those who had the credentials, the knowledge, and the experience to get there.
That knowledge provided them with the stark realization that if things go wrong, they will, in all likelihood, die.
Shiny brochures and slick presentations don't alleviate the considerable dangers. Thousands of people have attempted to climb Everest; hundreds have remained there. How much do these various guiding services really highlight the danger? Is there really a "you are beyond help" speech or is it just some small print on one of the countless forms being signed?
I wish the rescuers well, but they're looking at odds approaching "being struck by lightning while going to cash in a winning lottery ticket".
Much can go wrong as you venture away from assistance.
There have been various comments here comparing this to Mt. Everest and I think there are some parallels. Rich people can hire guides to get to the North Pole, Everest and now the bottom of the oceans. The ends of the Earth have long been reserved for those who had the credentials, the knowledge, and the experience to get there.
That knowledge provided them with the stark realization that if things go wrong, they will, in all likelihood, die.
Shiny brochures and slick presentations don't alleviate the considerable dangers. Thousands of people have attempted to climb Everest; hundreds have remained there. How much do these various guiding services really highlight the danger? Is there really a "you are beyond help" speech or is it just some small print on one of the countless forms being signed?
I wish the rescuers well, but they're looking at odds approaching "being struck by lightning while going to cash in a winning lottery ticket".
Much can go wrong as you venture away from assistance.
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2015
- Posts
- 25,010
I believe their track record was 100% safe before this. Does that change anything?
Though you have to dig into problems. They have lost communications before. Like for 2hrs when that reporter went on it last year. They control the craft with a small blue tooth game controller
Thread Starter
TS
I'm reminded of Challenger...
I read the submersible was at least significantly made from carbon fiber. I ride a carbon fiber bike and fly in carbon fiber jetliners but I am not sure about submerging to 13,000 feet underwater in a carbon fiber container.
Thread Starter
TS
Apparently a former employee who got fired allegedly for complaining about safety specifically mentioned a lack of non-destructive testing of the carbon fibre cylinder..
The idea that any endeavor that complex (deep sea diving, mountain climbing, etc.) can be made "100% safe, 100% of the time" is ludicrous. But that's the way these adventures are marketed.
"Teacher in space!" was the tagline for the shuttle prior to the Challenger disaster. NASA had proclaimed that the failure rate of the shuttle was in the million-to-one odds range which is ludicrous. The shuttle disaster commission asked the shuttle engineers what they thought, and the engineers said there was about a 1-in-50 chance of a disaster. End result: 135 flights, 2 disasters, for a 1-in-62 chance. i.e., the whole problem was a massive disconnect between management pushing flight schedules and engineers saying it's not safe.
Everest deaths have remained in the 1-in-60 range for a long time now. I'd be surprised if the various guiding services advertise that grim statistic.
So this might be naive of me, but why wouldn't they attach a very long cable to this submersible, or at the very least have it attached for the descent/ascent. I mean there are deep water divers who hang tanks on cables ... get that this is much much deeper but still just saying a safety line would seem to be a very simple step they could take to save lives or at least locate the sub.
Thread Starter
TS
I imagine cost and complexity. I mean there are some safety issues here I'd say..
You cannot be serious