Titanic tourist submersible gone missing

LionAquaLooper

I'm assuming it's like crushing an egg with your hand. The whole thing doesn't disintegrate into powder. Some big chunks of the shell remain intact.

Sassafras

Only things containing gases get crushed, like your airways, stomach and recklessly made submersibles.

LionAquaLooper

Saw a documentary a while ago on the Titanic and it explained why there are no skeletons down there. Apparently bones get liquefied quite quickly in those depths, and that's why the only remains of Titanic deceased down there are their shoes. Lots and lots of old shoes. 

Yorkie

This, I’m OK with. Eggshell: 

This, I don’t quite understand. Unless the thing imploded not long after initiating descent? Do we know? 

I am just trying to understand what we’re seeing. I have no idea how this is supposed to look, but I am curious. 

m_c

Yorkie said:

This, I’m OK with. Eggshell: 

This, I don’t quite understand. Unless the thing imploded not long after initiating descent? Do we know? 

I am just trying to understand what we’re seeing. I have no idea how this is supposed to look, but I am curious. 

I think the first photo is part of the fibre glass outer shell, either from around the main body, or the tail area.
Although the carbon fibre tube was 5" thick, it did have an outer protective shield to protect it from impact damage.

Second photo looks like part of the under carriage.

elstoof

Did you ever hold an empty smarties tube in one hand and whack the middle with the other so the plastic cap popped off?

LionAquaLooper

Yes agreed, the 2nd photo can only be the underside skis, which are permanently outside the sub. 

The sub couldn't have imploded not long after descent because the mother ship still had radio communication with them more than hour after they launched. 

elstoof

The debris is all quite close together near the titanic so they must’ve been fairly close to the bottom before implosion

Yorkie

LionAquaLooper said:

Yes agreed, the 2nd photo can only be the underside skis, which are permanently outside the sub. 

Ah, then it all makes sense. Those parts were already at high pressure when the rest imploded. Case closed  

Hurling_Fruitmig

elstoof said:

Did you ever hold an empty smarties tube in one hand and whack the middle with the other so the plastic cap popped off?

That is exactly what I thought of when it became obvious it had failed.

boogieman

No big lumps of carbon fibre coming up, just titanium and fibreglass parts, so presumably it’s the actual c/f hull which failed. 

ICBM

boogieman said:

No big lumps of carbon fibre coming up, just titanium and fibreglass parts, so presumably it’s the actual c/f hull which failed. 

The BBC is reporting that the front end cap has the porthole window missing, but the tube is in pieces. That implies it was the tube that failed and not the window - otherwise the tube would probably be intact - and the porthole was blown out from the inside as the tube collapsed. But the experts will probably be able to determine it for sure.

Haych

boogieman said:

No big lumps of carbon fibre coming up, just titanium and fibreglass parts, so presumably it’s the actual c/f hull which failed. 

Have they finished the salvage operation or are they still bringing stuff up?  Even if the CF hull did fail I'd expect there to be large bits of it down there, no?

I noticed a picture of the front dome being lifted yesterday - without the porthole window - I wonder if that was the failure point, seeing as it was only certified for 1300 metres, or if that was blown out/sucked in during the implosion?

I also read on the news this morning that they've found "presumed human remains" in the wreckage - the fact they can't positively identify the remains as human makes me think it's quite grim and not a pretty sight!

Edit: I also was watching an interview with someone yesterday (I forget who, but I think it might have been James Cameron) who stated that the last communication with the sub was that it had initiated a resurface procedure before the implosion.  So the occupants must have known something was wrong before it failed.

axisus

Haych said:

I also read on the news this morning that they've found "presumed human remains" in the wreckage 

I honestly don't know why they had to report that. If I was a family member I would find that distressing. We literally aren't expecting anyone to have survived so why go there.

Reverend

I read that the pressure would have heated the air inside to thousands of degrees in an instant. I don't think we need to have details what they found. 

jellyroll

Note to self: When designing next submarine, feature window not necessary. 

Sassafras

axisus said:

Haych said:

I also read on the news this morning that they've found "presumed human remains" in the wreckage 

I honestly don't know why they had to report that. If I was a family member I would find that distressing. We literally aren't expecting anyone to have survived so why go there.

The press have to satisfy our ghoulish interest..

goldtop

axisus said:

Haych said:

I also read on the news this morning that they've found "presumed human remains" in the wreckage 

I honestly don't know why they had to report that. If I was a family member I would find that distressing. We literally aren't expecting anyone to have survived so why go there.

Because it's the #1 mission of the recovery. There are people who would like to have a funeral service for their loved ones.

axisus

goldtop said:

axisus said:

Haych said:

I also read on the news this morning that they've found "presumed human remains" in the wreckage 

I honestly don't know why they had to report that. If I was a family member I would find that distressing. We literally aren't expecting anyone to have survived so why go there.

Because it's the #1 mission of the recovery. There are people who would like to have a funeral service for their loved ones.

I get that sentiment, but it only works with a body. They aren't bringing bodies back.

ICBM

I think the major objective of the salvage is to prove exactly why it failed, just to make completely sure no other “innovators” are tempted to think they know better than the consensus of engineering opinion which had already warned that building it that shape and from those materials was a very bad idea.