The missing Titanic submersible was believed to have imploded after days of searching after it went missing Sunday. According to a new report, debris was found in the area believed to be parts of Titan.
How to Know What Really Happened to The Missing Titanic Sub-Titan?
In a previous report from Science Times, Admiral John Mauger of the US Coat Guard (USCG) announced that the missing Titanic submersible Titan was lost due to a "catastrophic implosion." They found debris that was consistent with the components used in the vessel.
Ryan Ramsey, a former submarine captain in Britain's Royal Navy, told BBC that the submersible lacks a black box so that they couldn't track its last movements. However, the investigation process is similar to that of an airplane crash.
According to him, after the fragments are returned to the surface by the investigators, they will search for the carbon fiber structure's fractured structure, which is crucial to understanding what happened in the final seconds.
The direction of the carbon fiber filaments in each piece will be extensively studied under a microscope to check for tears that would indicate the precise location of the rupture.
Whether a structural failure was the root of the problem is the key question that investigators will attempt to resolve.
If it occurred, Professor Blair Thornton of the University of Southampton claims that the submersible would have been subjected to extremely high pressures comparable to the weight of the Eiffel Tower.
He noted that he was talking about an extreme collapse of the primary housing. The crucial question is whether this was what occurred and if it was due to improper testing, as some experts have argued.
Professor Roderick A. Smith of Imperial College London states carbon fiber breaks down due to inherent production flaws. Inspection of the titanium and carbon fiber joints must be comprehensive.
He added that it may be very difficult to determine the sequence of events due to the violence of the implosion. Hence the requirement for recovery and, if possible, meticulous scrutiny.
There is currently no system in place for handling occurrences involving submersibles, so it is unclear which agency will oversee the probe. Since the US Coast Guard has taken the lead in the operation thus far, it is likely to keep playing a significant role.
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Implosion May Have Happened Shortly After Titan Lost Contact
US Coast Guard had searched for the missing Titanic submersible for days. On Wednesday, it heard "underwater noises," many hoped were from Titan.
However, according to a separate report from BBC, US Navy detected a sound "consistent with an implosion" after OceanGate's Titan lost contact with its mothership, suggesting that the sub had been into pieces for days and since it went missing.
However, the sound was reportedly "not definitive," so they continued the search and rescue mission. However, on Thursday, Mauger confirmed that all five passengers aboard the missing submersible had been killed from a "catastrophic implosion" based on the debris found in the area.
He said they had sonar buoys in the sea almost continually, and during that time, they have not observed any catastrophic incidents.
The noise detected Wednesday is now thought to be coming from other ships in the area.
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