Comments by "SmallSpoonBrigade" (@SmallSpoonBrigade) on "Daily Mail" channel.

Yes, this is why there's been so much speculation that the sub may have imploded or become tangled on something. The moment that the pilot of the craft realized that the communications system had failed, that should have triggered the pressing of the emergency ballast release to take them to the surface where the mission would have been simply locating the sub and probably opening it immediately. As it stands it's highly likely that they're on the bottom where it may well be impossible to reach them in the next few weeks.
53
Yes, there's a reason why it took over 70 years to find it. They even knew roughly where to find it due to the navigation logs from the ships that rescued the passengers. AFAIK, there's still the mystery about the other ship that allegedly didn't stop to help.
46
@joeyallard In spite of that, the company likely will be put on trial and probably go out of business. I can't imagine anybody agreeing to ride in one of their subs in the future for any price.
15
@MrBUCHO11 That's a fair question. It's because the signals can't travel through the water quickly enough to get a fix. It's the same basic reason that the communications link was so slow, even when working properly.
9
@Ray__E Let's also remember the amount of wealth represented by the passengers, if they wind up not surviving, which is highly likely, they were killed by their own cheapness. There's definitely a morality play in here. Being so very wealthy, but not paying for the equipment that could do this at a reasonable risk level.
8
Money, the same reason why the billionaires didn't just charter a real sub to go down to visit the wreck.
6
They're billionaires, there's no way they could have afforded to just rent a research vessel for the trip. /sarcasm.
5
@drunkstormtroopr3627 They had potentially 4 days worth of oxygen, potentially death from dehydration or hypothermia could come sooner. It is possible to leave a couple weeks without water in rare cases, but typically you're looking at closer to 2 days. There was some water on board for drinking, but who knows how much, and if they're still alive, it's like spending the time stuck in a sewer.
4
We don't know that happened, but it certainly is possible. The design was heavily reliant on the hull remaining intact and the ballast being released to bring the craft to the surface. If either of those two conditions weren't met, they were completely screwed as there doesn't appear to be a contingency plan to handle that. Even if they are on the surface, if they aren't located before the air runs out, they're still screwed as they have no way of opening the sub to get more air and they have limited water with no toilet available.
3