'Simpsons' Writer Who Rode In Titan Sub Recalls Hitch That Happened 'Every Time'
A man who completed four dives with OceanGate, the company that operates the missing Titan submersible, said the vessel lost contact with its host ship on every expedition he took.
“Every time they lost communication. That seems to be just something baked into the system,” Mike Reiss, a New York writer and former showrunner of “The Simpsons,” said in an interview with ABC News. “I don’t blame OceanGate, but I think I blame deep water for that.”
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As a passenger, Reiss said he was well aware of the risks. “There is a long release you sign, a waiver, that mentions death three times on the first page,” he said.
Reiss completed three dives off the coast of New York, and one to the Titanic wreckage off the coast of southeast Canada, where rescue crews are searching for the five-person Titan submersible that went missing Sunday morning.
During his expedition to the Titanic on board the Titan, Reiss said, there were “communication problems” after they landed 500 yards from the sunken wreckage. “We knew it was there, but our compass was acting up, and we didn’t know in what direction it was.”
His crew managed to find the wreckage after about three hours, he said.
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The missing vessel, which was carrying its pilot and four passengers, is predicted to run out of oxygen on Thursday morning.
It lost communication to its surface vessel an hour and 45 minutes after starting its descent to the Titanic on Sunday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, which said it was notified Sunday evening when the submersible failed to surface at its scheduled time.
In a separate interview on NewsNation’s “Banfield” Wednesday night, Reiss said that despite the looming deadline, he believed people on board would be in a state of calm.
“There’s something just zen and otherworldly about being on this sub. And being that far down, that everybody loves to mention that I fell asleep on the sub, even though I knew death could come in any minute,” Reiss said.
“It’s dark, it’s cool ... there’s no furniture, so you’re just kind of propped up leaning against the wall with your legs sticking out,” he added.
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“And that’s what I have a sense is going on in the sub right now. People are at peace. They’ve exhausted every option they could think of, I hope.”
Experts have said the best thing passengers can do is slow their breathing and avoid panic. Though estimates suggest the vessel’s 96-hour supply of breathable air is about to run out, some experts have said survival time could be extended if passengers have worked to conserve oxygen.
Source: HuffPost
