Titanic tourist sub goes missing sparking search

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I am one of the crudest people I know, but damn, can't we at least wait until we know they are dead before we make fun of the situation? Some of the comments on this thread are embarrassing, at least I have a few more entries into the ignore roster.

The $250,000 question is when will it be appropriate. @johndiver999
 
I really don't think that "one button" concept was a very good idea. Can you imagine even an airplane with just one button?

I am really, really hoping for a miracle because at this point, it would have to be a miracle they survived.
Ya, a single point of failure for everything electrical doesn't seem very smart...
 
One of the guys on the sub is a former navy person who was on a big sub. He know what the procedure is to signal from depth for them to be found. It is apparently to bang on the hull for 3 minutes on the hour and 1/2 hour. I believe there are two ships on site that have ROV's that can go to that depth and beyond. They have sonar capabilities, lights and a mechanical arm. If they are on the sea bed and someone is still alive and banging on the titanium then this shouldn't take much longer to locate the sub. But they would still need to send down a cable - connect it to the sub and raise it. Let's hope that happens today.
 
I have not read this thread, however. I have a US Coast Guard submersible pilots' license (Only for a sub that goes to 300 feet deep). I say this because the submersibles I piloted, which carry 48 passengers and 3 crew had an emergency drop weight. This weight weighs 2-tons and when released made the sub buoyant and it would float to the surface.

This weight was mechanically released by the pilot or co-pilot from the cockpit and did not rely on electronics. It was a manually activated lever that if cycled a few times pushed a pin holding the weight and the weight dropped.

This weight was drop tested annually at the dock and was an requirement by the American Bureau of shipping and the USCG before she was certified to carry passengers. I am quite certain this Oceangate submersible is required to have the same thing.

The submersibles I piloted also had the capability for voice coms with the surface and we routinely talked back and forth to the surface support craft.
So as you have credentials of piloting a submarine, I must ask you about communication protocols with the surface. Do you communicate status (depth and whatever else) at regular intervals, or do you just "enjoy the experience"? There's a reason I'm asking the question and why I'm using quotes.
 
This weight was drop tested annually at the dock and was an requirement by the American Bureau of shipping and the USCG before she was certified to carry passengers. I am quite certain this Oceangate submersible is required to have the same thing.
I recall reading (from I don't recall what source) that the Oceangate submersible was not subject to any requirements because it operates in international waters only. If I understood correctly, the submersible is considered "experimental."
 
Perhaps for private use, but once a commercial operation (the paying customers), it should be subject to some form of regulation, no?
 
Perhaps for private use, but once a commercial operation (the paying customers), it should be subject to some form of regulation, no?
Notice that they aren’t passengers. They are mission specialists. If they were passengers, the mother ship would have to have IMO certifications (I don’t know that it does or doesn’t).
 
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