I seriously can’t believe they don’t have at least an EPIRB. If they had one, the entire “they might be on the surface” idea could pretty much be ruled out.
Yes, of course! An EPIRB!
… what is an EPIRB?
An emergency position-indicating radiobeacon (EPIRB) is a type of emergency locator beacon for commercial and recreational boats, a portable, battery-powered radio transmitter used in emergencies to locate boaters in distress and in need of immediate rescue.
It gets worse even if the sub made it to the surface it they are unable to find the sub before the oxygen runs out everyone will still die since the sub has no way open the hatch and its sealed to be airtight.
I thought we all learned this lesson with Apollo 1.
There’s a lot about OceanGate that confuses and alarms me but the thing on my mind this afternoon is why there isn’t any way for the people inside to get out without an external crew. That just seems insane—all those ways to theoretically ensure the Titan makes it to the surface in case of emergency but then you just bob there, oxygen running out, too bad? (And the submersible is white?! Not neon orange?? I hate everything about this.)
"There are two pilots, one of which is Stockton Rush, the sub’s designer and the CEO, and he drives the sub with a game controller … It has the right levers and buttons to go up, down, left, right and so on.
This thing is controlled with a game controller. Image the reason for this whole situation is a fucking xbox one plastic controller (just if that is the case).
Edit: Apparently all failsaves should have brought the sub up to the surface, even if the crew is uncouncious.
I found the game controller thing strange at the beginning, too. But then I heard that the Us Navy is using them, too. Although not for steering but for their periscopes.
What I find really dumb is that the crew is bolted in from outside and there is no mechanism to open the vessel from the inside.
Not that it matters much when you’re drifting on the open ocean.
And not painting the thing yellow or orange or something that pops, especially when it’s not connected to a ship via cables and when the crew can’t open the hatch themselves.
What I found kind of amusing is that people pay a quarter million and then have to take turns looking out a small window.
My bet is that the orcas got em.
I’m not sure which of all the potential scenarios they could be in are the worst.
Floating on the surface, seeing the hope of survival through the window whilst being able to do nothing about it; trapped on the ocean floor being able to see nothing but each breath; or the sinister creaking that forewarns sudden breach and implosion.
I’m just going to tell myself they’ve all turned pirate and made for the Carribbean. No tragedy here! No sireeee.
One thing that struck me as really odd though. With all the safety mechanism in place to get the thing back to the surface and they paint it fucking white? That thing should be neon yellow or something.
Also, wouldn’t they run out of oxygen relatively soon? I guess they expect the sub to be found quickly after resurfacing. Real nightmare stuff…
Marketing probably thought white looked cooler
Every scenario sounds absolutely awful. You generally aren’t in a situation too many times in your life where there are no options for the predicament you’re in.
I like the scenario you laid out. I have no idea what five humans who are out of options will do when they’ve accepted no help is coming. I don’t mean this as a joke, but that is an extremely dark place, both physically and mentally, that I hope I never experience.
Knowing you have about 12-15hours left. And the owner of the company is on board.
I mean even if they find it NOW, is that even enough time to bring it up? The whole process with depressurization is quite slow, they would have to get oxygen supply down there. Not even talking about the means required to get down there.
Edit: The failsaves should have apprently brought it up to the surface. Even if the crew is passed out.
I hear that pressurization isn’t a problem since the sub itself is at a normal (atmospheric?) pressure, unlike a diving suit.
Hearing about how many fail-safes the sub had, including one that would go off even if everyone was passed out, yet there is still no sign of them. I can’t help but think it was either destroyed on the way down or got stuck on something. I also think the decision to paint the sub white was a huge unforced error. There is also a chance that they DID make it, we just haven’t seen them.
On why the missing vessel has not yet been located We really have no idea. I mean, the waves are six feet high. It’s all whitecaps. The sub itself is white.
The more i read about this the dumber it gets.
At least there are failsafes to bring it back up. If it wasn’t too deep if i understand correctly
