# "Titan" submersible investigation begins \[28-June-2023\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [June 28, 2023, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242 "2023-06-28T16:34:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2023, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/161 "2023-07-05T23:56:36Z")
And according to the podcast, a slaveholder at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/162 "2023-07-06T00:58:15Z")
whether they were using WWII headphones or digital monitoring equipment the implosion would likely have been recorded. If the sub is in an emergency ascent then monitoring the hydrophone would be their sole focus. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/163 "2023-07-06T01:20:31Z")
We don’t yet know there _was_ a gap between loss of communications and the implosion, or that it was long enough to cause worry (it was noted that they lost comms on pretty much every previous dive). So it’s possible that they’d have to be recording continuously to capture the implosion. Which is probably what a responsible company would have done, but Oceangate doesn’t appear to be a responsible company. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/164 "2023-07-06T01:23:11Z")
It may be in the earlier thread but the information that the support ship heard the implosion came from someone they had contacted. I’m not sure when that occurred. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/165 "2023-07-06T01:27:53Z")
The question that prompted the tangent was “How could they not have heard the implosion?”. And the answer, IMO, is that if the failure was instant, then they’d have no reason to have been listening in real-time. They’d need to have been recording the live audio for some reason. It’s not enough to say that they use acoustic comms, since those happen on specific frequency bands and are modulated. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/166 "2023-07-06T01:29:20Z")
they were alerted to the emergency ascent. So that should have been a dead giveaway. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/167 "2023-07-06T01:37:13Z")
Is there a cite for that? I can no longer remember what are rumors vs confirmed reports. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/168 "2023-07-06T02:02:18Z")
[The New Yorker July 1 2023](https://www.newyorker.com/news/a-reporter-at-large/the-titan-submersible-was-an-accident-waiting-to-happen) **The Titan Submersible Was “an Accident Waiting to Happen”** - McCallum, who was leading an expedition in Papua New Guinea at the time, knew the outcome almost instantly. “The report that I got immediately after the event—long before they were overdue—was that the sub was approaching thirty-five hundred metres,” he told me, while the oxygen clock was still ticking. “It dropped weights”—meaning that the team had aborted the dive—“then it lost comms, and lost tracking, and an implosion was heard.” ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/169 "2023-07-06T02:12:34Z")
Thanks. It’s not totally clear the sequence of events from McCallum’s second (third?) hand report and who heard what. But I’m not sure we can trust OceanGate to be honest about what actually went down, so that might be all we get. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/170 "2023-07-06T02:17:25Z")
Yeah, it’s a fun podcast. The host and many of the guests were editors and writers for _Cracked_ back when it was good. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/171 "2023-07-06T02:19:43Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Thanks. It’s not totally clear the sequence of events from McCallum’s second (third?) hand report and who heard what. Agreed. I’m sure Nova is busy putting together a documentary on it so until the we’re left with citing things that may have been inaccurately reported. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/172 "2023-07-06T08:01:34Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I don’t like the idea of the _passengers_ dying in terror, but I absolutely hope that _Rush_ was 100% aware of the certainty that he was about to become chum. That type of arrogant hubris begs for a puncturing. I expect the last person to feel fear would be Rush as he strikes me as the sort with a well-developed capacity for denial. But hey, I could be wrong on that. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/173 "2023-07-06T09:30:26Z")
There’s been quite a lot of noise about a supposed ‘leaked’ transcript of the text comms between the support vessel and the sub. Internet consensus (if that means a damn thing) seems to be that it appears genuine. I read it and thought it seemed a little bit fake, but maybe that’s me. Not sure if I should link to it because at this point a lot of the narrative is clickbait and such. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/174 "2023-07-06T10:04:57Z")
Yeah, I saw that, too. I think it’s plausible but at this point unverified. If authentic the folks on board knew there was something amiss for about 15-20 minutes, but that doesn’t mean they realized they were about to die. Initially, when we heard there was an implosion the assumption was that the event was instantaneous and they never knew what hit them. Well, we sort of thought that about the _Challenger_ and _Columbia_ shuttles but it turns out there were a few seconds to a few minutes when the occupants realized that things were going off the rails. So maybe this is like that, that there was a brief period of time when those aboard knew things were getting bad. But the _actual_ implosion was pretty instantaneous. I really wish that we could get a solid confirmation or denial about the authenticity of that transcript. Maybe Snopes is working on it. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/175 "2023-07-06T11:36:50Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Dunning–Kruger effect? I know that DK often seems to refer to people with low intelligence who think they know more than experts; but can it also apply to very intelligent people who over-estimate their knowledge in a field they do have some experience in? Or without experience, just believing their expertise translates elsewhere. As a long-time flight instructor I’m cautious when given a Doctor as a student. They’re either great, or a risky problem. (Usually great though.) ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/176 "2023-07-06T12:50:12Z")
I keep wondering whether a “black box” would have been possible. If some sort of recorder and microphone set up could have been attached to the titanium hemisphere in the unpressurized area of the hull. But as I think about it more, I figure Rush would have chinced out on something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/177 "2023-07-06T14:03:21Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I read it and thought it seemed a little bit fake, but maybe that’s me. I saw that last night and was too skeptical about it to post the link. But since you mention it: > **[Unconfirmed ‘transcript of Titan sub’s final communication’ leaked online](https://www.indy100.com/news/titan-sub-final-transcript-tiktok-2662279583)** > > Screenshots of what purports to be the Titan submersible’s final communications before its tragic destruction have gone viral online.The unconfirmed script alleges to reveal the final words shared between someone on board the sub – presumably... ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/178 "2023-07-06T14:11:13Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I keep wondering whether a “black box” would have been possible. I’m sure it would be possible to do, even cheaply, on a well-thought out, well-designed sub. So there is probably no chance it had one. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/179 "2023-07-06T14:22:07Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’m sure it would be possible to do, even cheaply, on a well-thought out, well-designed sub. So there is probably no chance it had one. BTW, I sometimes think about how outdated airplane “black boxes” are. A more rational design with tiny modern electronics capabilities considered would be to scatter multiple redundant small, flash-based recorders throughout the airframe. Even some under small hatches in the outer skin that are coated in something positively buoyant that would release and float to the surface after a water crash. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2023, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242/180 "2023-07-06T14:47:00Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > That’s the cladding from the instrument cluster at the tail end Of course, how stupid of me. 🤦🏽 Don’t know what I was thinking. > [@Broomstick](#): > > I really wish that we could get a solid confirmation or denial about the authenticity of that transcript. Me too. It seems slightly off for some reason. It could just be the worry/anxiety showing. I can’t even imagine my thoughts being trapped in there with all the warnings going off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/titan-submersible-investigation-begins-28-june-2023/986242.md?page=10)