• FurtiveFugitive@lemm.ee
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      2 years ago

      While I agree with the sentiment, doesn’t your own article state that immediately after the incident, multiple countries launched a group search and rescue mission which saved a lot of the victims?

      The story about the millionaires, at least to me, is less about the fact that they’re millionaires, and more about the fact that we have tourist visits to the remains of the Titanic. At this point I don’t know who was on that tiny submersible but I’m intrigued with the tech and what could have gone wrong.

    • Storksforlegs@beehaw.org
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      2 years ago

      I agree with you, its infuriating that a news story about a bunch of billionaires lost in a homebrew sub is stealing the thunder of a lot of more important, much more tragic news.

      But its a less complicated story for people to latch on to, it doesnt challenge people to do something about it… thats a big reason why its overshadowing these other stories. (Also theres maybe a bit of public Schadenfreude. I mean at a time when most people cant afford food or rent, I can see how a story about a disaster befalling a group of super rich folks capture peoples attention.)

      But its also just a very compelling event. I dont know, people are just fascinated by disasters and deep sea exploration (myself included) and Ive never seen a story like this unfold in real time. So I think its worth following and discussing, but I agree that it shouldnt be totally dominating the news like this.

    • anon@lemm.ee
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      2 years ago

      the ugly truth is that immigrants drowning isn’t news, it’s just normal business, that’s why they are trying to save the millionaires, and also why firemen send a chopper to rescue a cow stuck in ice while there are others getting chopped up a couple of miles away.

    • slaytswiftfan@beehaw.org
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      2 years ago

      you can have interest in both. the news can’t constantly keep people’s focus on things that happen every day, people stop caring. also your own article states there was action taken.

      I guess I kinda understand your frustration but if you choose to look at everything from that angle you might as well not participate in the news, it will burn you out

    • Venutian Spring@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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      2 years ago

      It’s disgusting, bit that’s the fucked up world we live in. Same reason we do corporate bailouts and tax cuts for the rich but can’t ensure that every kid has food to eat.

    • NuPNuA@lemm.ee
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      2 years ago

      Unfortunately, migrants getting in trouble in the Med or English channel has become fairly common news these days, people tune out eventually. People lost in a homemade submarine isn’t something that happens a lot so it draws attention.

  • SeeJayEmm@lemmy.one
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    2 years ago

    Yeah the sad part is that, really, the best we can hope for is a post mortem. Rescue is almost impossible in this situation.

    • AngrilyEatingMuffins@kbin.social
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      2 years ago

      Why do we care? We know what happened - this thing was built like shit. How come taxpayers have to foot some bill to tow these dead rich fucks?

      • Steve@lemm.ee
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        2 years ago

        People are still people, man. If they have the money maybe they should pay back the rescue efforts if found alive (which won’t happen), but it kinda sucks to say “welp bye” and let half a dozen people slowly die if you could’ve helped.

    • someguy3@lemmy.ca
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      2 years ago

      Something this small could simply be floated to the surface. With big things there no way that can be done. Still difficult af but possible, don’t know if things like that already exist.

      • werewolf_nr@fig.systems
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        2 years ago

        Only the most optimistic guesses about their air suggest there is any left in it at this point. We’re pretty much at the recovery phase.

        • someguy3@lemmy.ca
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          2 years ago

          96 hours from departure, which I’m not sure was exactly. And they’ve heard banging.

          • werewolf_nr@fig.systems
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            2 years ago

            That was the spec sheet provided by the company, but without any backing info, testing, or engineering expertise. The more digging people have done on this submarine, the more of an absolute shit show it is.

          • Xtallll@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            2 years ago

            96 hours for 5, an unethical, penny pinching, corner cutting CEO could find a way to stretch that air for almost 500 hours.

      • Granite@kbin.social
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        2 years ago

        Wouldn’t that be risking nitrogen narcosis? I mean, certain death or chance at death. It’s all about the oxygen rn.

        • aegisgfx877@kbin.social
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          2 years ago

          I dont think so because the crew compartment is/was pressurized. The real problem is that without power they likely froze to death a long time ago

          • Granite@kbin.social
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            2 years ago

            That’s a good point, and I know shit about subs. I had heard there was banging, but idk how long ago that was.

        • Jon-H558@kbin.social
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          2 years ago

          If the sub is still at 1atm internal there is no issue…if the sub is at 380atm down at the Titanic then…again nitrogen narcosis is not the issue as that 4000 tonnes per square meter of force makes it irrelevant.

        • someguy3@lemmy.ca
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          2 years ago

          Hmm I don’t know if works like that when you’re on a submersible. You’re in a 1 atmosphere pressure.

    • Bipta@kbin.social
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      2 years ago

      I imagine if they located it and it was as simple as bumping it slightly with a remote vehicle, there’s still some infinitesimal chance, but it seems all but certain they’re doomed.

  • underisk@lemmy.ml
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    2 years ago

    There’s nothing to rescue except a waterlogged carbon fiber tube filled with gore.

    • Fauxreigner@beehaw.org
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      2 years ago

      There are reports that acoustic systems picked up banging noises at 30 minute intervals. Until I heard that, I was convinced it had imploded. Now I’m not so sure, and it’ll only be worse if they aren’t rescued. Implosion would at least have been fast.

      • Venutian Spring@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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        2 years ago

        I heard about that, but I find it very unlikely that they could make a noise loud enough on the carbon fiber hull, not exactly known for it’s acoustic properties and the resin acts as a sound damper. I’m not a material or acoustic engineer though, so who knows. Plus, the article did say that the sounds had stopped.

        • jwlarocque@slrpnk.net
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          2 years ago

          I believe the forward end cap (where the porthole is installed) is titanium, and exposed on both sides, so presumably that’s what they’d be banging on.

        • Steve@lemm.ee
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          2 years ago

          I feel like if there was a way to dampen sounds that well then military submarines would have adopted it long ago. No idea though.

          • Venutian Spring@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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            2 years ago

            I don’t mean it’s meant to dampen sound, just that carbon fiber that the hull is made from doesn’t conduct sound waves like metal. But someone else kindly reminded me that I forgot about the titanium cap or the sub

    • Bipta@kbin.social
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      2 years ago

      It sure sounds like they’re likely alive based on the reported banging. Sadly rescue before oxygen runs out seems impossible.

      • aegisgfx877@kbin.social
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        2 years ago

        They were alive, which is very very sad, but if they lost power (seems likely) then without heaters they would have froze to death a couple days ago.

        • PickTheStick@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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          2 years ago

          That’s what an article emphasized that I skimmed through. The sub had automatic pinging, and systems to automatically raise it to the surface if an untoward event happened. For communication and pinging to be lost, as well as the lack of floating submersible… It’s likely whatever happened buggered the whole setup. The banging also was supposedly heard in 30 minute intervals, but no one is saying how many of those intervals happened. The banging could be from anything. The deeps get strange, and the water distorts much of what we know. Multiple people with knowledge from other searches, like the 2014 MH flight, said banging was often heard during their searches but it was always from other sources.

  • GadgeteerZA@beehaw.org
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    2 years ago

    Yes seems no practical craft is actually able to reach them to recover their sub from that depth. There was no wire to pull them back up. The sub can’t be opened from the inside, even if it had surfaced somewhere. There’ll need to be a serious rethink about the safety design.

    • Bowen@beehaw.org
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      2 years ago

      There’ll need to be a serious rethink about the safety design.

      The owner is on record saying he thinks safety regulations are bogus an he’s actively looked to cutting corners because you can’t live in safety our whole life.

      This whole thing was a stupid mess. I can’t even really muster any sympathy for this situation because everyone made boneheaded decisions every step of the process. Including controlling thrust and control surfaces with a wireless PC controller because you’re too much of a spedthrift to spend 10k on some deep sea cable glands and build an actual fly by wire system for your 1.25 million dollar trips to the bottom of the oceans.

      • kryostar@beehaw.org
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        2 years ago

        Wait whaaaaaaat? They seriously used wireless PC controller for thrust and control surfaces?

        Oh my god. If that’s true that might be the most brain dead thing I’ve ever read today. Can you please give me a source, I have to know more about this now. :0

        • MrMonkey@lemm.ee
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          I can’t speak to the sub, but many Navy ships were retrofitted with systems to be controlled by XBox 360 controllers. Turns out training new people on the controller had huge improvements over the old systems.

          EOD also has robots controlled by a “game controller”. So do many drones.

          This isn’t a “crazy” thing to do. (except if it’s wireless. Keep that cable)

          https://thegamingwatcher.com/pages/articles/best-xbox/2023/6/21/gamepads-military-xbox-controllers-gaming

          • Barbarian772@feddit.de
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            2 years ago

            You’re right if it would have been an xbox controller, it wouldn’t have been crazy.

            It was actually a basically ancient Logitech Controller, which had connection problems even when you use it inside your home in front of your pc.

            • flux@beehaw.org
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              2 years ago

              I guess they can be pretty safe from radio interference there, at least :).

              I doubt the connectivity issues need to exist, though, probably works just fine in some configurations. What I’m wondering though if they had a spare, and maybe a second spare, and space batteries, on the boat. Or possibly manual override (doesn’t sound like it).

              I think the device itself is fine, though it might be indicative of too aggressive cost cutting measures.

              • PickTheStick@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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                2 years ago

                An article on APNews said there were multiple backups onboard… Which sort of engenders the thought of why they needed multiple backups. I’d be sure to have A backup, sure, but multiple?

                • Bowen@beehaw.org
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                  2 years ago

                  My thought is are they from different lots and are the batteries from different manufacturers and different lots? You don’t want to have 5 devices and them all from the same batch and all fail in the same way. A company not concerned by safety probably wouldn’t consider any of this. I also bet their SOP didn’t include changing batteries every time, so you have to rule out that these spares probably weren’t getting charged up or have their batteries replaced either.

          • kryostar@beehaw.org
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            2 years ago

            Yeah I absolutely understand that. But that wireless part id what gets me man. Why add so many points of failure? I’m just so mind blown that they were okay with using such off the shelf components.

            I’ve watched the Deep sea challenge documentary maybe 6-7 years ago… and IIRC everything on that sub had to be rigorously tested and custom made. They made sure that the sub was prepared for the worst. They reduced the no of failure points as much as they could. “Always assume anything or everything that can go wrong, will go wrong” was kind of their philosophy.

            So I always assumed that, every other sub and expedition will be treated the same. It’s like sending astronauts to the moon.

    • skele_tron@feddit.de
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      2 years ago

      Which safety design?

      Imagine if aero transport industry was allowed to cut corners like this and still offer services to passengers.

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      2 years ago

      This may be a silly question, but if magnets can lift cars, why don’t we use them for underwater recovery? Especially things like shipping containers where the most common metal used is magnetic.

      Of course, the problem of finding the vessel still remains.

          • StringTheory@beehaw.org
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            2 years ago

            Your idea is good, not silly. Aspects of it would work, if the dude designing the ludicrous sub had used steel like everyone else does. Magnets are very useful things, useful in a lot of ways.

            The guy designed a bad sub, and fired the staff who told him it was a bad sub.

            • Dankenstein@beehaw.org
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              Damn and here I was getting ready for a “these things aren’t normally made with magnetic materials” or some such because, of course, “why didn’t anyone think of this before, I can’t be the first person”… yadda yadda…

  • WeaponizedPoultry@kbin.social
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    When asked whether his submersible could be used to rescue those on the Titan before they run out of breathable air, Newell looked up from his crowbar and said only “These things, they take time.”

  • werewolf_nr@fig.systems
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    So, what you’re saying is that a Steam Controller is a better choice of diving equipment than the Logitech PlayStation knock off?

    • TWanderer@kbin.social
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      2 years ago

      Well, we might find out. Before we know they might lying motionless next to each other on the sea floor.

  • DanNZN@thelemmy.club
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    2 years ago

    You do not need a manned sub though most likely. Plenty of ROVs can go that deep and latch onto it. This is how they recover other things that end up on the ocean floor including other ROVs that got stuck researching the titanic.

  • Gsus4@lemmy.one
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    2 years ago

    He’s going to make a big announcement…but given his history, it may actually have to do with some artifacts he wants to find down there :)