Much is still unclear about what went wrong when the submarine Titan sank to the bottom of the Atlantic. But experts can draw some conclusions from what is known.
– My speculation is that the accident probably happened closer to the bottom than the surface based on where the wreckage was found, says Lawrence Brennan.
He is a professor at Fordham University in the US and has handled hundreds of maritime cases in court.
Like a plane crash
The “catastrophic implosion” that the US Coast Guard believes hit Titan can be compared to the force of a high-speed plane crashing into the water, he said.
– I investigated a number of such accidents. Microscopic and somewhat larger wreckage and human remains used to be found at the surface.
TT: That Titan was broken into several pieces, what does that say?
– That the external pressure became greater than the internal ability to withstand the pressure. Simply put, it can be described as when a large person steps on a full beer can. The pressure overwhelms the metal and forces all the beer out.
If the accident happened deep in the sea, it is probably a quick process, due to the enormous pressure.
– As long as it didn’t happen near the surface, it may have been so fast that they never realized they were going to die. They may have been dead before they realized something had gone wrong, he says.
Can be held responsible
As far as the issue of liability is concerned, the information about the criticism of the ship’s construction and maintenance may be important, as well as the qualifications of the people on board.
The communication between Titan and those on the surface can also provide clues and possible black boxes from the craft.
– If the ship owner can prove that the accident was not caused by certain errors, then one can get away with paying full compensation, even if the owner is held responsible.
At the same time, there is a great risk that we will never find out exactly what happened.
– All of a sudden you can find some overlooked piece of information that changes everything, says Lawrence Brennan to TT.