Welcome back to my channel where we delve into the intriguing world of failures, demystifying
their often intimidating and bewildering nature. Today I explain the chilling story
of the Titan sub and its ill-fated expedition to the Titanic, which has gripped the world's
attention like few news stories do. My specially made animations will illustrate what happened.
Diving to the wreck of the Titanic is extremely treacherous. It can only be
attempted during small weather windows in the year because the conditions need to be perfect.
On Sunday June 18th at 8 A.M the sub was launched, beginning its descent into the deep. The journey
to the sea floor took approximately 2 hours moving at the slow pace of just two km/h.
The sub descended under its own weight preserving its propulsion batteries for maneuvering and
course correction. The Titanic wreck lies in at a staggering depth of 4 km comparable to the
height of 4 Table Mountains in Cape Town. Large submarines don't venture beyond depths of 250 m
or 800 ft because the immense pressure becomes too dangerous at what is literally called crush depth.
They did not descend directly over the wreck to avoid dropping weights or other stuff onto it.
Instead they were a little off to the side. Upon reaching the sea floor the submersible would drop
ballast to achieve neutral buoyancy and would then embark on its mission to locate the wreck.
In the pitch darkness of the deep ocean it took the crew approximately half an hour or more to
find it using its powerful lights. There is no GPS underwater. They rely on accurate acoustic
system and inertial navigation. Titanic could be very close and still take ages to find it. The
wreck was approached front on so the visitors would have this iconic view as their first
glimpse of the historic ship. 90 minutes into the dive and about three quarters of the way down the
mothership received the last message from Titan. Some reports said the sub's final text told they
had dropped their weights, implying the need to ascend urgently to deal with an emergency. That
would be the last communication received. Did they abort the dive because of a system warning
or were they hearing ominous noises from the hull. This is a truly terrifying thought.
The voyage data recorder should reveal more. Communication was completely lost as the short
text message system and positioning pings ceased simultaneously. What followed was an implosion
of the passenger compartment collapsing into a small space in the blink of an eye.
The violent collapse was effectively instant as this demonstration shows.
The pressure vessel consisted of the mid body pipe, end rings and the hemispheres. The center
tube was made of 5-inch-thick carbon fiber and epoxy composite, rolled onto a steel pipe. The
hemispheres and rings were made of titanium. The Rings are glued onto the ends of the carbon
fiber. The hemispheres are bolted onto the rings. The front dome is pivoted as the door so you can
get in and out. When closed it is bolted shut from the outside. A tube is a weaker structural
shape than a sphere so the tube should have been the stronger material, not the unproven
one. This choice of material had been questioned by the deep submergence community but the Ocean
Gate CEO dismissed these warnings as getting in the way of innovation. The titanium parts were
recovered intact. Perhaps the acrylic portal failed, but it seems more likely the mid-body
pressure tube of the crew compartment was crushed by the unimaginable pressure. With each dive the
pressure vessel of the sub experienced incremental fatigue with tiny cracks and weaknesses. On dive
24 the accumulated damage was too much and tragically the 5 occupants died instantly. The
composite would have been shattered into fragments. The composite material may have
failed in the direction where the fibers were not providing support to the epoxy.
The filaments were rolled in one direction only. Not with multi-orientations as is the norm for
stability. I would be interested to hear comments from those who know more. Even if the carbon fiber
turns out not to be the cause its use was part of a disturbing attitude of dismissing industry
best practices and norms. The sub's pieces sank and settled on the sea floor. After searching
more widely for a few days the search teams looked in the location below the last known
position. Very soon they located 5 major fragments including both end domes and the landing frame,
scattered across 2 debris fields. The day after the sub disappeared, there was persuasive evidence
that pointed to a sudden disaster. The Navy had picked up a violent underwater bang shortly after
the simultaneous loss of all communication. It is puzzling why this compelling evidence was not made
known while alternates incorrect scenarios swirled unnecessarily for 4 days and the search focused on
the wrong place. 10 days after the sub disappeared the wreckage was brought to shore in Canada.
These pieces will be essential for the investigation that will now start.
Our incredible modern world runs smoothly without us even noticing. We get to enjoy
all these amazing benefits without giving them a 2nd thought. It's only when things go wrong that
we start to realize how much we take it all for granted. None of this seamless operation
would be possible without the unsung heroes: our army of brilliant scientists and Engineers
quietly and unseen. Making sure everything functions effortlessly. Our reliance on them
is undeniable. The ocean does not care if you are rich. But it does favor those who respect
engineering and science, ahead of hubris and gut feel innovation. If you like this check out my
video on the deeply puzzling Yeti Airlines crash. Thanks for watching and I will see you next time.