Exploration, the risks and the unknown!

[Big Dog RJ]

Greetings from down unda.

Just thought I'd share a few thoughts, especially after this incident. As usual on my travels, I bumped into a kid, no more than 5yrs old. He was in that "why" stage...
So as we got talking on the topic of submarines... the covo ended with the recent tragedy of Ocean Gates Titan (expedition to the wreckage of the Titanic). The depth was around 3200m approx. 4km... he asked me one question, "why?" The only viable answer I could think of was that those who went exploring really wanted to go exploring! They wanted it so bad, they just had to go out there no matter what. So during the next cocktail party they could actually say, yeah I went and saw the Titanic! Beat that...

There were several warnings about this depth, such that this kind of depth had not been tested before. Various warning signs were out there and every single authority of the search and rescue mission said this was very risky and avoidable. Just like the Titanic! The captain never listened to his crew and thought the Titanic was unsinkable... but it wasn't.

Billionaire Shazad Dawood and his teenage son Sulaiman also perished, along with another Billionaire from Britain and the rest of the crew, comprising of a former Naval officer and scientist. I'm not sure what's up with the Billionaires... I guess no matter how much money you have in the world, it will never buy happiness. $250grand for a damn ticket to the depths... which is never guaranteed in this case. Do you really need to spend that kind of money? If I had that kind of money, I know what I'll do with 250grand... pay off the damn mortgage! No, not hi-fi!

The kid, Sulaiman, teenage son of Billionaire S Dawood, apparently didn't ever want to join this expedition, knowing the risks. Even he could sense that it was pretty stupid and risky but he didn't want to let his dad down... so he just rolled with it. Poor kiddo never made it. Why would you want to engage in such an event so desperately... as that little kid asked, why? No one has the answer.

Life's lessons:
1. Be satisfied and content with what you have! If it's good then it's certainly good enough!

2. Know the risks and learn all factors before divulging in such situations. If the bloody warning signs are out there, ringing off all the bells & whistles then why risk it.

3. Listen to the kids! When they ask why... stop and listen as to why... then it may actually make sense. We as adults or audiophiles think we know it all... actually we know very little.

What a sad and tragic ending, most certainly a terrible way to go.

Bless you all and keep safe, and most of all enjoy those fine tunes! At this stage, it's good enough for me.
Cheers, RJ

[AnotherJohnson]

That submersible was not certified for the depth it was taken to, and yet it had gone there many times because the owner was reckless and pig headed.


Unfortunately he was also persuasive and he convinced many rich people to go with him over the course of many years.

He did not understand what’s called “low cycle fatigue.” This is a type of failure that we understand well for tensile loadings, as occur in a normal pressure vessel. But it is not well understood for compressive loadings as occur in a submersible. The Naval architects of the great powers understand this best. The fellow who would not certify the lost submersible for the depth of the Titanic probably understood this too.

In any event, this vehicle should have had a 100% magma flux or ultrasonic inspection before every trip. But that costs money and I am sure based on the history of Rush that it was not part of his routine.

Very sad for the families of the naive passengers who were duped into going with this reckless Captain Nemo.

Are there life lessons here? The most important one is that we do not know the day or the hour of the end of our mortal life. Chasing death is only a good idea for those who would not be afraid to catch it.

[admin]

he asked me one question, "why?" The only viable answer I could think of was that those who went exploring really wanted to go exploring!

I can appreciate taking risks for exploration and the pursuit of knowledge for humanity. But this was not the case. They were not on any scientific mission. No data was to be gathered, no relics to be found and brought to the surface for analysis. This was purely recreation. 5 rich guys paid quarter million dollars each to go down in a carbon fiber tin can, peak out a small window that was only rated for 1300m and they paid the ultimate price. I'm not saying taking risks for fun is outrageous. There are people that scuba dive, parachute out of airplanes, and space tourism. All of these carry a risk. Nonetheless, it sounds like cutting corners on safety in this particular case was a fundamental flaw. I was somewhat relieved to hear that the cause of death was implosion (and not the slow running out of oxygen) as that was a quick and painless way to go. RIP and condolences to the family.

[AnotherJohnson]

If it was carbon fiber, and I’m sure you’re right, then no amount of traditional inspection for fatigue would have discovered defects. So it should have been limited to its certification depth. This was a failure of laissez-faire capitalism to protect men with money from themselves.

[admin]

It was a carbon fiber titanium mix. The CEO (who also died) bought the carbon fiber from boeing after it had expired past its shelf life. The original plans called for a 7 inch hull, but it was only made 5 inches. The viewing window was only certified for 1300m. And the CEO refused to get it certified or inspected by third parties. The negligence is pretty astounding.

In terms of oversight. What makes it even more difficult is that these happen in the open sea so it does not fall under any specific countries jurisdiction.

[AnotherJohnson]

The 19 year old’s death is tragic because it is as though he were kidnapped and held hostage by his desire to please his father. The rest of them were just arrogantly unwilling to believe that the reaper was waiting below.

[Big Dog RJ]

That's right.
The 19yr old kiddo was well aware that this expedition was looney... but he didn't want to let down his pops. What a hero. The pops is some big wig billionaire but hardly resides in Pakistan. Most of the time he's in the UK or Netherlands.
What strikes me the most is that surely this billionaire has all the right connections to conduct prior checks before even embarking on such a risky trip. Sadly, the case seems to be mostly built up of ignorance and sheer ego.

At the end of the day as James Cameron said, that futile submersible ended tragically at the exact position of the Titanic wreck, how ironic! And the best part is, other naval military ships had detected an implosion. However, although reported, they just carried on with the search like three blind mice ...

1/4 of a million, invest it and do something good with it. That's what I would've done. Keep safe all,
RJ

[AnotherJohnson]

I saw one claim that an engineer had advised that the vehicle’s shell and window fastening should be examined by an XRay technique.

Imaging has come a long way over the last 50 years. When I was doing my PhD, one of my fellow graduate students was doing some of the earliest work to develop computer aided tomography for medical applications. Because of the nature of a carbon fiber wrap, I think XRay or other deep imaging evaluation would require development of a baseline, followed by regular subsequent inspections to look for how the image had changed over the history of use. That might have shown internal degradation that could lead to failure.

The story went on to claim that Rush fired the engineer rather than implement his recommendations.

If Rush had done this in Dante’s day, it would have earned him a special place in one of the lower levels of the inferno.