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Debris found came from missing Titan sub, says friend of passengers

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Re: Debris found came from missing Titan sub, says friend of passengers

#521

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why they didn't just drop it to the bottom of the ocean without people hundred times to see if it still holds. Who experiments with a crew in the age of remote control sensors and computers?

I'm guessing they couldn't afford to without going bankrupt.

Then they couldn't afford it, period.

Re: Debris found came from missing Titan sub, says friend of passengers

#522
post #457

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the migrant boat disaster is horrible. But I was more interested in this missing sub because it was a bit mysterious what happened to it initially. Then it all comes out how badly built it is, how it's a death trap, etc. It's just more interesting personally. It doesn't mean it's worse than the migrant boat, it's just more interesting and I'd rather read about it. Mysterious cases always get more traction on…

Do you have any details about why it was a death trap? I watched one video that complained about off the shelf parts being used, but the two examples was an RV light (not safety related) and the gaming controller (which they had multiple back ups). They also claimed to have been reviewed by Boeing and University of Washington. There was 7 different mechanisms that could force a return. Some of those were purely mecha…

What I learned so far: porthole not rated for the depth of the Titanic, apparently no testing done on the balast release mechanisms, screens screwed directly into the carbon fibre hull, flammable interior materials, mixing three materials in pressure vessel (carbon fibre tube, titanium end bulk jeads, transparent port hole).

All more or less untested and uncertified. Throw in the reported comms issues that were common during past operations, a highly inexperienced engineering team, a culture promoting unsafe practices and you get a death trap of a vessel.

Re: Debris found came from missing Titan sub, says friend of passengers

#523
post #457

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the migrant boat disaster is horrible. But I was more interested in this missing sub because it was a bit mysterious what happened to it initially. Then it all comes out how badly built it is, how it's a death trap, etc. It's just more interesting personally. It doesn't mean it's worse than the migrant boat, it's just more interesting and I'd rather read about it. Mysterious cases always get more traction on…

Do you have any details about why it was a death trap? I watched one video that complained about off the shelf parts being used, but the two examples was an RV light (not safety related) and the gaming controller (which they had multiple back ups). They also claimed to have been reviewed by Boeing and University of Washington. There was 7 different mechanisms that could force a return. Some of those were purely mecha…

James Cameron had some insightful commentary on why the sub was intrinsically dangerous: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rThZLhNF_xg

Re: Debris found came from missing Titan sub, says friend of passengers

#524
post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the idea of being trapped in a confined space kilometers under the sea has a visceral effect on the imagination that a boat voyage on the surface doesn't, regardless of how tragic the outcome is in both events. It pokes and prods many of our deep phobias. Similar stories like the Thai boys trapped in the cave, or the Chilean miners, had a similar effect. A bit like "Snakes on a plane". Again, trapped with you…

I think being trapped on an overcrowded ship, bodies pressed into you, as the ship capsizes, is also viscerally terrifying. You don't know where you are. You don't know who is around you. You have nothing except what you could've carried. You are trying to leave a downed ship with hundreds of pressing bodies. The waters are rising. There's too much froth to see where you're going. Everyone is screaming, death is all…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_MV_Sewol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_A8dq2fA5o

A friend of mine was involved with computer forensics on recovered cellphones on this one. Just awful.

Re: Debris found came from missing Titan sub, says friend of passengers

#525

What I don't understand is, if it imploded, why didn't the boat hear the implosion? Surely that would be really loud. Louder than the 15 min audio ping that the boat is normally listening for.

The boat may not have heard it, but the navy certainly did: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36439661

Re: Debris found came from missing Titan sub, says friend of passengers

#526

Here are a couple of quotes I pulled from the USCG press release: > "debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel" > "1600 feet (487 meters) from the wreck of the Titanic" > "it is a smooth bottom", "there is no wreckage of the Titanic in the area" > "size of the debris field is consistent with an implosion in the water column" > "there doesn't seem to be any connection between the noises and the…

Part of me has been wondering if the noises being heard might be an unexpected discovery of a military (Russian, Chinese, US) submarine operating in the general area. Don’t they submerge for long periods of time without comms?

There were at least a few rescue craft in the area, most likely the sound was from one of them, if it was real in the first place.

Re: Debris found came from missing Titan sub, says friend of passengers

#527
post #6

I wonder if U.S. agencies (e.g. the Navy) had picked up the sound of the implosion days ago, back when the Titan was said to have lost communication, and knew all this time that the Titan had likely already been destroyed. But there's no incentive for them to publicly say anything, as it would hint to their underwater surveillance capabilities. And the "rescue effort" is good practice for their crews. I watched most…

From the WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-navy-detected-titan-sub-imp...

https://archive.is/pSpem

U.S. Navy Detected Titan Sub Implosion Days Ago Underwater microphones designed to detect enemy submarines first detected Titan tragedy

WASHINGTON—A top secret U.S. Navy acoustic detection system designed to spot enemy submarines first heard the Titan sub implosion hours after the submersible began its mission, officials involved in the search said. The Navy began listening for the Titan almost as soon as the sub lost communications, according to a U.S. defense official. Shortly after its disappearance, the U.S. system detected what it suspected was the sound of an implosion near the debris site discovered Thursday and reported its findings to the commander on site, U.S. defense officials said. “The U.S. Navy conducted an analysis of acoustic data and detected an anomaly consistent with an implosion or explosion in the general vicinity of where the Titan submersible was operating when communications were lost,” a senior U.S. Navy official told The Wall Street Journal in a statement. “While not definitive, this information was immediately shared with the Incident Commander to assist with the ongoing search and rescue mission.”

Re: Debris found came from missing Titan sub, says friend of passengers

#528
post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the idea of being trapped in a confined space kilometers under the sea has a visceral effect on the imagination that a boat voyage on the surface doesn't, regardless of how tragic the outcome is in both events. It pokes and prods many of our deep phobias. Similar stories like the Thai boys trapped in the cave, or the Chilean miners, had a similar effect. A bit like "Snakes on a plane". Again, trapped with you…

I think being trapped on an overcrowded ship, bodies pressed into you, as the ship capsizes, is also viscerally terrifying. You don't know where you are. You don't know who is around you. You have nothing except what you could've carried. You are trying to leave a downed ship with hundreds of pressing bodies. The waters are rising. There's too much froth to see where you're going. Everyone is screaming, death is all…

I agree with you but I also realise it’s very hard to imagine what a proper tempest on the sea feels like if you are never experienced it on a ship. It’s an experience which is so far removed from a modern person traditional experience - a sunny summer day at the beach - that they just can’t grasp it.

Re: Debris found came from missing Titan sub, says friend of passengers

#529
post #454
post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would not read too much into it. Media coverage in this context is mostly about how sensentional and novel the news is. People get lost at sea all the time, in particularly in fishing and shipping industry. The average person is very similar to those people and yet such events dont generally create international news.

It is less about the media but more about the response of officials. How many boats were send to look for a single submarine? All the way from the France? When they could have been sent to Mediterranean sea as well.

There wasn't really a discrepancy in response though, and if you are lost at sea and have nothing to hang onto...you aren't going to last long. I saw someone ask why the US didn't send ships to look for migrants, well...that's a 10-day ride across the Atlantic & Mediterranean. Even surrounding countries were sometimes hours away.

The average human can't tread that long without a life jacket, the average is ~2-3 hours and that's in still water (to be a lifeguard you have to last 30 minutes), not a choppy ocean/sea. By the time any country other than Italy or Greece came to the location, they'd already be dead. It's tragic, but there is no discrepancy. If there were a chance of actual survival for days, there would have been a much larger response.

Also, apparently the Greeks offered aid before the boat even sank and the boat declined because they didn't want to go to Greece, they wanted to go to Italy. There are mixed reports on that though as now some are blaming the Greek coast guard for tipping the boat over by accident.

If you want something to be upset about, be upset about practically every country on Earth's broken immigration systems that cause these tragic events.

Re: Debris found came from missing Titan sub, says friend of passengers

#530
post #457

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the migrant boat disaster is horrible. But I was more interested in this missing sub because it was a bit mysterious what happened to it initially. Then it all comes out how badly built it is, how it's a death trap, etc. It's just more interesting personally. It doesn't mean it's worse than the migrant boat, it's just more interesting and I'd rather read about it. Mysterious cases always get more traction on…

Do you have any details about why it was a death trap? I watched one video that complained about off the shelf parts being used, but the two examples was an RV light (not safety related) and the gaming controller (which they had multiple back ups). They also claimed to have been reviewed by Boeing and University of Washington. There was 7 different mechanisms that could force a return. Some of those were purely mecha…

There were a lot of issues with the design, which I found helpfully explained in this video. [1] A major concern was intentionally hiring fresh college graduate engineers without keeping older submarine veterans on staff as well. There were some good questions raised about their breathing system. Were they just continually releasing oxygen in to the cabin to compensate for CO2, thus leading to a potentially high oxygen environment where a fire would be a major issue? Did they have isolated breathing equipment in case of a fire? After a previous dive it was noted that the vehicle was hard to visually locate even after surfacing, but it did not have a position beacon onboard, nor was it painted orange to make it easier to see. Why did they fail to include these suggested measures?

I think there was a fair bit of other concerns. I thought this video was informative and the kind of thing the HN crowd would appreciate, so take a look.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dka29FSZac

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