The loss of the submersible Titan during its expedition to the Titanic has raised questions about the vessel's safety, but Titan is only the latest sub to find itself in peril at the site of the world's most famous shipwreck.
The wreck of Titanic is in danger of collapsing from bacteria and corrosion, but also from visitors. But going there is also a danger to the visitors themselves.
Still, no matter how reliable the vehicle, diving to such extreme ocean depths is always risky. At least three previous expeditions to the Titanic had close calls that could have cost the crews their lives.An adviser to the team that rediscovered Titanic in 1985, Canadian undersea physician Dr. Joe MacInnis had already participated in several dives to the site by the time he co-led a joint Canadian-Russian-American expedition there in 1991.
After a moment of panic and a string of expletives, they called in the second Mir sub for assistance. Fighting against the strong currents had sapped the sub's power supply, and they were almost out of batteries. On their third attempt, they held their breath when they hit eighty feet but continued to rise, breaking the surface five hours later.Despite his fear of water, Michael Guillen couldn't pass up the opportunity to be the first reporter in 88 years to visit the Titanic when he was invited to dive there in 2000.
The little sub was jammed tight in the gigantic propeller's housing. As Nischeta rocked the vessel back and forth like a car bogged down in mud, Guillen thought to himself: "This is how it's going to end for you."
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