Searchers detect undersea sounds in hunt for missing submersible

God the media are milking this one, it's going to be a countdown 'till the last breath. People really get perversely interested in other peoples' misery.

Still, I can think of better ways to die doing what you love. Poor buggers.

A slight hope of recovery if not rescue but another tragic chapter in the history of the Titanic. Canadian and American governments need to review the safety of these tourist dives.

@wallace, I don't think the Canadian and American governments are going to review the safety of tourist dives like this, simply because they have better things to do than regulate something so rare. What they should do, which is entirely feasible if not easy, is forbid such dives anywhere near historic wrecks. But, people with the bucks will always pay for a thrill, so trying to stop them is pointless. Sort of like expensive flights into space. It's too bad, to me, that they don't do something more productive for humanity than waste it on selfish aggrandizement.

The submersible is sealed from the outside. Even if the submersible was floating in the ocean; they could still die of suffocation.

Well, 4 elementary school-aged children survived a plane crash then survived alone for 40 days in the Amazon, so in terms of survival, anything is possible.

The mini-sub was designed to remain underwater for 96 hours,

This looks like a calculation not actually tested at least no information was ever giving as to if they actually tested this claim.

The Titanic

some 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) beneath the surface

Again the sub was claimed to be capable of 4,000 metres but never actually tested that deep not even the 3,800 metres, only just slightly over 3,000 it seems.

The submersible is sealed with bolts from the outside,

The owner (on board) claimed to have used or studied the Apollo 1 disaster but then did the same mistake of bolting the hatch.

Other problems: made from carbon fiber which tends to shaters not just crack when it breaks, the controller used to pilot the ship is a wireless PlayStation controller ( yes no joke an actual PlayStation controller), and again a decision by the owner on board to not have voice communication because he didn't like the "interruptions" from support on the surface requesting status updates.

There are more red flags pointing to high possibility of a disaster.

The following is from a 20 year USA submariner and expert on submarines, etc...he gives a very good breakdown of all the mistakes and possible scenarios.

https://youtu.be/4dka29FSZac

For a dive where this company is making 1.25 million per dive (w/ 5 people aboard), couldn't they invest in more backup emergency devices?

The floating to the top by dropping weights is good, but also a GPS tracking system in case it does float to the top; some kind of bright colored liquid that's expelled making it easy to spot; two or more backup communication devices; flotation balloons that go up and are attached by wire? Or something else?

The interview that I saw with the owner showed the interviewer that the whole submersible is driven with a handheld videogame controller (LITERALLY!). When you see the video, you can see the submersible looks like some guy's DIY project.

I am somewhat surprised that this has not happened before. How many people involved with this company are actually experts in the correct fields for this endeavor?

A whistleblower previously voiced concerns over the safety of the missing Titanic submersible, court documents claim.

The 2018 documents reveal that an Oceangate employee raised issues about the safety and design of the vessel, named Titan.

McCallum told Insider that he still stands by his assessment of Rush and OceanGate, adding that Rush's working style and equipment could have caused the submersible to go missing.

McCallum, who says he is familiar with the equipment used in the Titan submersible, also told Insider he did not think that the submersible was safe for use.

McCallum ended up going to the Titanic shipwreck back in August 2019 with explorer Victor Vescovo, per Good Morning America. McCallum's crew used the DSSV Limiting Factor, a two-person submersible made by Triton Submarines, per the Seattle-based news site GeekWire.

"I would never dive in an unclassed/uncertified sub," McCallum told Insider.

An adventurer who used to consult with OceanGate, the company behind the missing submersible, left the firm because he thought its founder was over-promising and rushing things

https://www.yahoo.com/news/adventurer-used-consult-oceangate-company-051834297.html

I have not seen in any of the reporting anything that indicates that this vessel had been tested at such depths. Surely there must have been dozens of tests proving the safety of the vessel before putting FIVE humans in for a dive. Also not mentioned is the lack of communication methods between the vessel and , well, anyone. Yes, it is difficult so far underwater. But SOMETHING must work. Morse code? Hoping for a miracle rescue but it seems we should have had contact by now for that to happen.

They should be sending these things down in pairs, each with the capability of recovering the other or at least noting the location and seeking help in an emergency. I hope they find them in time.

Should have immediately assigned three ships for determining the exact position by triangulation (maybe many of you know that from those GPS already) and of course another ship with the required sophisticated rescue capabilities. Yes, I know, even then it’s still very difficult and with unknown outcome. But so, a bit of listening and only waiting for some higher magic, that surely lets one estimate not so very much more than a very sad and tragic end. Next time, invest even some more by not forgetting a safer environment with supportive ships and professionals.

Well, the CEO is down there with them. I wonder if regrets his words of refusing to "...hire 50- year-old white guys with submarine experience because they aren't inspirational?"

Hubris can be a killer.

More of his interview:

I believe it's pretty much invulnerable,

The interviewer then pointed out that people said 'pretty much' the same thing about the Titanic — which famously sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in 1912 after it hit an iceberg.

'That's right,' Stockton acknowledged, 'and I will go all out and put my money where my mouth is.'

Unfortunate indeed. The main problem with such an adventure is exactly if something goes wrong - as it has done - is that few facilities are around to be able to affect a search and rescue at such depths - it's not like everyone has deep sea recovery mechanisms standing by. You'd think given the extreme risks - they'd have had (at least) triple redundancy mechanisms.

The American Coastguard has said all five on board are dead from a "catastrophic implosion" before they reached the wreck.