YouTuber Alan Estrada was in the Titan before: he says it had problems
The sunken ship
The news of the imploded submersible Titan, during an expedition to see the remains of the Titanic, has shocked the world. Several people have emerged to tell their stories about this peculiar trip.
Alan Estrada's experience in the lost submersible Titan
Such is the case of the famous Mexican YouTuber Alan Estrada. He once boarded the submersible of the company OceanGate and also faced various problems and risks as part of that experience.
Photo: @alanxelmundo / Instagram
Descended in the same submersible: Titan
Alan was one of the first passengers to live the experience of going down with the Titan submersible, all the way into the depths of the Atlantic to see the remains of the historic ship that sank 110 years ago.
Photo: @oceangate / Instagram
His reaction to the news
While the coast guard was looking for the missing submersible, Alan Estrada tweeted: "It is the same company with whom I did it. I hope they find them soon, the sub has everything to survive 5 days inside."
Photo: @alanxelmundo / Instagram
The crew of the submersible
After the disappearance of the submersible on June 18, a search and rescue operation began for its 5 crew members: the pilot Stockton Rush (photo), who is also the president and founder of OceanGate; the French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 73; and tourists Hamish Harding, a 58-year-old British businessman and adventurer, Shahzada Dawood, a 48-year-old Pakistani businessman, and his son Suleiman of 19 years.
Photo: @oceangate / Instagram
Alan Estrada tweeted hopeful at first
In case the submersible was lost "on the surface," the Mexican star tweeted, it "indicates hope because if they are found, there are many possibilities of rescue." Unfortunately, as it later turned out, the vehicle was not on the surface but on the bottom of the ocean.
Photo: @alanestrada / Instagram
But also: "You can't get out from inside, they have to open you up"
The adventurer added to his tweet: "You cannot get out from the inside, they must open you up and that operation is complex. I hope they find them."
His first attempt failed at the time
In his case, the Mexican YouTuber tried to reach the remains of the Titanic in July 2021 after paying, at that time, 125,000 dollars. However, due to a problem related to the recovery of the submersible, its descent had to be rescheduled for a year later.
Photo: @alanxelmundo / Instagram
The second time, he did make it to the Titanic
In July 2022, they tried again. Then, the submersible with Alan Estrada in it reached the Titanic. Yet, it was not easy that day either, as they encountered a problem.
Photo: @alanxelmundo / YouTube
Lost communication with the surface
The problem was that, at one point, they lost communication with the surface. Because of that, the crew had to abort any further descent. However, they later recovered communication and managed to go down after all.
Photo: @alanestrada / Instagram
His defense: "Titan is a one-of-a-kind experimental submersible"
"A year ago, precisely, we achieved the successful immersion," Estrada recounts. "Two years ago we tried the first one. And yes (we had communication problems on the second try), but I would also like to say that these communication problems are common in this type of vehicle; that is, Titan is a one-of-a-kind experimental submersible…"
Photo: @oceangate / Instagram
"We were able to have a successful dive"
"…It is the first in the world that exists, made of carbon fiber, and the systems at those depths, it is difficult to ensure that they will work, that is why there are very demanding protocols regarding security and what to do when you lose the communication," Estrada recounted in an interview with NMás.
Photo: @alanxelmundo / Instagram
Going down in the same submersible that had a problem earlier
"So, we did have a communication problem that was eventually fixed," Estrada continued his story to NMás. "We were able to have a successful dive. It was necessary in the same submersible, but fortunately, it was fixed."
They promise an 8-hour trip
The YouTuber explained that, normally, a dive lasts, at best, eight hours. During that time, the submersible closes and opens only from the outside. So you cannot have claustrophobia while inside the vehicle!
Photo: @oceangate / Instagram
Itinerary to reach the bottom of the ocean
"We had a very successful dive, and it takes two hours to descend to the bottom of the ocean, 3,800 meters," Estrada explained on Instagram. "You have four hours to explore the remains of the Titanic and two hours to go up."
Photo: Instagram @alanxelmundo
It is difficult to recover the submersible
"The problem," Estrada continued, "is the recovery of the submersible, which is what can be complicated at times... because it is complex with the whole issue of the ocean and the weather..."
'Complex with the whole issue of the ocean and the weather...'
"...So, we had 8 marvelous hours that everything went perfectly, but you can see it in my videos, the first successful dive lasted much longer (than mine) because it had been very difficult to recover the submersible," explained the also actor.
Photo: @alanxelmundo / Instagram
Passengers sign a release of responsibilities
Alan also commented that, with this being a high-risk activity, passengers have to sign a rather elaborate release of liability document before boarding the submersible.
Photo: @alanxelmundo / Instagram
"You know the risks you're taking"
"Practically, you know the risks you are taking," Estrada says. "You know that it is an experimental submersible and that it is the first of its kind made of carbon fiber. You know that there are many things that can go wrong and, of course, that you are aware of the risks you take when doing something like this…"
Photo: @alanxelmundo / Instagram
"Several of the dives were successfully accomplished"
"...Obviously, you don't expect anything bad to happen to you," he adds in his interview with NMás. "Fortunately, several of the dives were successful, and it's a shame that, at this moment, the submersible is missing."
Photo: @alanxelmundo / Instagram
Estrada had issues with Oceangate
In his case, Alan had a big problem with the OceanGate company that had nothing to do with the safety of the trip. They had promised to give him the material that the submersible recorded, Estrada recounts, but later they took back that promise.
Needed images for his video
"When I contracted this immersion with the company that does it, I had a meeting with them via Zoom…. I told them what my job is, what I do on (his channel) 'Alan x el Mundo.' I showed them videos; that is, they know exactly what I do. One of the first questions I asked them is if I had access to the video material of the submersible and they answered yes…"
"They were quite rude to me"
"…Unfortunately, after the dive, they were quite rude to me and refused to give me this material. They just gave me some clips from the GoPro that is next to the viewfinder, but the 4K material from the submersible they refused to give me. This was very frustrating for me because I needed this material to tell this story," Estrada explained.
Few will probably repeat his trip
For now, Alan Estrada is one of the few people who have managed to go down to the depths of the ocean to see the remains of the Titanic. After the disaster with the OceanGate submersible in June 2023, this trip will probably become a lot less popular to take.
Photo: @alanxelmundo / Instagram
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