Titanic claimed another 5 lives 111 years later

[Marcel]

Seems like the tourist submarine diving for the Titanic imploded at great depth.

First of all, thoughts go out to all affected.

Having said that, one wonders the sanity of a world where people pay a quarter of a million dollars for a touristic trip to a mass grave at 4km depth in a seemingly improvised vessel.

 

[manta22]

Seems like the tourist submarine diving for the Titanic imploded at great depth.

First of all, thoughts go out to all affected.

Having said that, one wonders the sanity of a world where people pay a quarter of a million dollars for a touristic trip to a mass grave at 4km depth in a seemingly improvised vessel.

It's only a matter of time before the media starts up "The Curse of the Titanic".

 

[manta22]

It's only a matter of time before the media starts up "The Curse of the Titanic".

This whole situation reminded me of an old saying in mountaineering & caving about people asking why we do it., "If I have to explain it to you, you wouldn't understand."

 

[pbehn]

From the first moments this story started the coverage was bad. "billionaire missing, with four others" quickly changed to "two billionaires missing with three others" It has now got worse with arguments about if these billionaires have (now had) paid enough tax to be saved.

For myself I do wonder about the mindset of the very rich and very famous, from Leigh Mallory to Lady Diana and Dodi Fayed and a who host of rock stars they dont seem to think a plane crash or car crash can happen to them.

 

[SaparotRob]

If I was a billionaire, I'd get two Big Macs.

 

[gumbyk]

From the first moments this story started the coverage was bad. "billionaire missing, with four others" quickly changed to "two billionaires missing with three others" It has now got worse with arguments about if these billionaires have (now had) paid enough tax to be saved.

For myself I do wonder about the mindset of the very rich and very famous, from Leigh Mallory to Lady Diana and Dodi Fayed and a who host of rock stars they dont seem to think a plane crash or car crash can happen to them.

I don't think that they don't think it will happen to them (any more than any other person), its just a combination of two things: They have access to this sort of thing much more often (seriously, how many people can afford to spend $250k on a few hours trip?), and that when something goes wrong, the media are all over it. I have lost a lot of friends in aircraft accidents over the years, and only one made the news, because it occurred in public view.

Waivers are something like software licences - everyone signs them, and no-one reads them.

 

[manta22]

I don't think that they don't think it will happen to them (any more than any other person), its just a combination of two things: They have access to this sort of thing much more often (seriously, how many people can afford to spend $250k on a few hours trip?), and that when something goes wrong, the media are all over it. I have lost a lot of friends in aircraft accidents over the years, and only one made the news, because it occurred in public view.

Waivers are something like software licences - everyone signs them, and no-one reads them.

I'll bet the lawyers are already circling like sharks.

 

[yosimitesam]

Another macabre aspect of this tragedy is the ubiquitous (in the press, at least) question "can the bodies be recovered?" There are unlikely to be any "bodies", as such. The pressure at that depth is about 6,000 psi. The implosion "blast pressure" would be coming inward rather than outward (as in an explosion from HE), but would be many times greater than an HE explosion due to the water pressure and the fact that water is many times more dense that air/gas in an explosive pressure wave. My feeling is that one might find a piece of flesh, a shard of bone, etc. here and there. From a document (Effects of blast pressure on structures and the human body) there's the following quote: "A 35-45 psi overpressure may cause 1% fatalities, and 55 to 65 psi overpressure may cause 99% fatalities. (Glasstone and Dolan, 1977; TM 5-1300, 1990.)" Imagine a "blast" pressure 100 times more powerful than this (and traveling within a medium of much greater density: water) and you can realize that there probably won't be any intact anything with regard to the human body. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. All I can say is: RIP, gentlemen. You were more brave than I would ever be.

 

[gumbyk]

I'll bet the lawyers are already circling like sharks.

Oh yeah.

 

[manta22]

Another macabre aspect of this tragedy is the ubiquitous (in the press, at least) of the question "can the bodies be recovered?" There are unlikely to be any "bodies", as such. The pressure at that depth is about 6,000 psi. The implosion "blast pressure" would be coming inward rather than outward (as in an explosion from HE), but would be many times greater than an HE explosion due to the water pressure and the fact that water is many times more dense that air/gas in an explosive pressure wave. My feeling is that one might find a piece of flesh, a shard of bone, etc. here and there. From a document (Effects of blast pressure on structures and the human body) there's the following quote: "A 35-45 psi overpressure may cause 1% fatalities, and 55 to 65 psi overpressure may cause 99% fatalities. (Glasstone and Dolan, 1977; TM 5-1300, 1990.)" Imagine a "blast" pressure 100 times more powerful than this (and traveling within a medium of much greater density: water) and you can realize that there probably won't be any intact anything with regard to the human body. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. All I can say is: RIP, gentlemen. You were more brave than I would ever be.

At that depth the pressure is so great that a human body would be reduced to nothing more than goo. Think of what happened to hardhat divers who lost their air lines at only a few hundred foot depths. Not pretty. The news media seems to think there may be recoverable bodies. Such is the level of their ignorance!

 

[GrauGeist]

After reading about the composition of Titan's Hull and subframe last Tuesday, I had doubts about it's survivability.

I am saddened by the tragic outcome, but this machine should have never been allowed to descend to depths half of that of the Titanic.

As far as rich people and invincibility is concerned, we see them doing things we either wouldn't do or cannot afford to do, but for the average person, risks are always present and when things go wrong, rarely make the headlines.

When I was involved in a near fatal, high speed collision ten years ago, it barely made the news because I was just an average nobody.

If I was stupid rich, the media would have lost their freakin' minds with news of my wreck and social media would have been on fire with all sorts of speculation.

 

[eljefe]

From a document (Effects of blast pressure on structures and the human body) there's the following quote: "A 35-45 psi overpressure may cause 1% fatalities, and 55 to 65 psi overpressure may cause 99% fatalities. (Glasstone and Dolan, 1977; TM 5-1300, 1990.)"

The reason for this is that at about 50 psi, alveoli in the lung ruptures. At 65 psi, there may be 99% fatalities, but aside from having no pulse the remains appear no different from that of someone who succumbs to a heart attack or stroke.

Remains can be recovered intact from depths comparable to the Titanic's resting place. The key is that they must sink relatively slowly, being pressurized gradually. It is the intensely sudden nature of rapid implosion that renders remains unrecognizable. It is a very violent event.

 

[pbehn]

The reason for this is that at about 50 psi, alveoli in the lung ruptures. At 65 psi, there may be 99% fatalities, but aside from having no pulse the remains appear no different from that of someone who succumbs to a heart attack or stroke.

Remains can be recovered intact from depths comparable to the Titanic's resting place. The key is that they must sink relatively slowly, being pressurized gradually. It is the intensely sudden nature of rapid implosion that renders remains unrecognizable. It is a very violent event.

If you have seen pictures of whales and dolphins at great depth, they are massively deformed, almost unrecognisable, that is how they cope with the pressure, and they cant go to the depths of the Titanics resting place. as I understand it, the momentary differences in pressure, when equalised at that depth will turn almost all of the human body into an emulsion.

 

[33k in the air]

Having said that, one wonders the sanity of a world where people pay a quarter of a million dollars for a touristic trip to a mass grave at 4km depth in a seemingly improvised vessel.

That is precisely why I had zero interest in the story, and got mighty tired of the "news" media making it the only thing they wanted to report about.