The missing submersible craft that provides tours of the Titanic shipwreck was reportedly being piloted by a Logitech controller and had previously gotten lost during a live TV segment promoting the voyage.
Per the BBC, tour firm OceanGate and the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards confirmed a search and rescue operation was underway for the missing vessel on June 19. The submarine had lost contact with the Coast Guard approximately one hour and 45 minutes into its journey to the Titanic wreck site, which is located at the Atlantic Ocean's sea bed, 3,800 meters below sea level. As the search continues, details have emerged about the construction of the submersible, which is called the Titan.
Details of the Titan were previously reported in a November CBS TV segment and was shown to have as much space as a minivan, with an interior that could accommodate five people sitting cross-legged.
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"We only have one button, that's it. It should be like an elevator, it shouldn't take a lot of skill," Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditio told CBS correspondent David Pogue.
"We run the whole thing with this game controller," Rush continued, showing Pogue a modified Logitech gamepad controller. Motherboard pointed out it was a slightly modified Logitech G F710 Wireless Gamepad (MSRP $39.99). It's also worth noting, per Motherboard, that it's not unheard of for such controllers to be used in a similar fashion as the U.S. Navy sometimes utilizes Xbox controllers on submarines.
Rush also showed a small corner of the vessel where customers could relieve themselves in a water bottle if need be, and said his team constructed the submersible with Boeing, NASA, and the University of Washington to make sure it could withstand "deep-sea pressure."
"Everything else can fail," Rush added. "Your thrusters can go, your lights can go, you're still going to be safe."
Since it's a submersible and not a submarine, the Titan cannot return on its own once it leaves port and instead relies on a mother ship to carry and retrieve it.
Pogue spent multiple days sailing with OceanGate's crew, and several dives to see the Titanic wreck were canceled due to poor weather, with at least one planned dive canceled because several floats became detached from the Titan, per CBS. Pogue also witnessed a dive in the Titan which got lost for two and a half hours.
On Monday, the US and Canadian Coast Guards said the Titan likely had between 70 to 96 hours of oxygen left, since the vessel usually made dives with four days of emergency life support.
OceanGate operates eight day tours to see the Titanic, according to its website, and charges attendees around $250,000 a ticket.
