LETTER: Don’t let Titan ruin future of undersea exploitation

On April 8 1954, SA flight 201 bound for Johannesburg took off from Rome’s Ciampino airport and disintegrated over the Mediterranean. The De Havilland Comet was the world’s first commercial jet, and SA 201 was one of three that crashed within two years.

It was discovered that repeated compression cycles had weakened the craft’s airframes, especially around the corners of the almost square windows. While a close call, the jet age was saved with an elliptical alternative.

The Titan submersible appears to have suffered a similar fate. Like the Comet, this tragic accident happened at the transition between predominantly military and commercial applications. Ballistic submarines don’t have windows for obvious reasons. But commercial passengers want a view, in this case of the Titanic.

Almost 70% of the Earth’s surface is underwater. We know less about the ocean bed than the surface of the moon. Oceans hold enormous potential for habitation, food production, mining and, yes, sightseeing. One crew member, Hamish Harding, was a merchant adventurer looking for business opportunities and had already established the first commercial air service to Antarctica.

It can be argued that the Titan’s demise contained elements of Icarian hubris, but it was an accident. The crew pushed an envelope too far. They would want others to fix the problem so that a golden age of undersea exploitation can begin.

James Cunningham
Camps Bay

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