Submarine rescues are rare and challenging. In most successful attempts, search teams know the submarine’s exact location and depth. In the case of the Titan submersible that authorities believe imploded near the wreck of the Titanic last week, rescuers were looking for a vessel, about the size of a large car, in an area the size of Connecticut and in water more than two miles deep.
The deepest underwater rescue was the retrieval of the Pisces III submersible and its two crew members from nearly 1,600 feet, but most successful rescues happen above 1,000 feet. Even accidents in relatively shallow water can be disastrous. In 1917, a Royal Navy submarine began flooding during a training mission and quickly plunged 80 feet underwater. Rescuers responded quickly, but were able to save only half of the crew.
What was the deepest submarine rescue attempt?
Search teams knew little about the condition of the Titan’s hull or crew after the submersible lost contact with its mother ship over an hour into its descent. Had the submersible survived its descent to the ocean floor, rescuers would have had to save its five passengers at nearly eight times the depth of the deepest rescue ever. Robert Kuehn, a retired Navy lieutenant who piloted a submarine rescue vehicle, explains that below 600 feet, there is very little light, so rescuers search primarily using sound, which can be distorted by pressure, underwater currents, and other factors.
When Kuehn heard that the Titan had disappeared, he expected the worst. “When submarines just go away,” he said, “that’s the scariest thing.”
How many people have been rescued from submarines and submersibles?
Sources: US Naval Institute, Navy Times, BBC, New York Times, Royal Navy
