The prospect of being trapped inside a submersible for days on end would be utterly grim, writes Sky's adamparsons. He has been on board a Cruise Sub-7, a seven-person vessel that's got roughly the same dimensions as the missing Titan.
I climb a flight of steps to reach the top of the submersible, then go down four steps of a ladder into the sub itself.
Three things strike you straight away - the light that comes in through the windows; the sophisticated instrument panel and the small size.But the sub has powerful exterior lights and that would ease the sense of claustrophobia.On the Titan, you don't have that - it must feel much more as if you are trapped in a box.
The instrument panel is another key difference - the Titan, as everyone now knows, is partly manipulated by an old Playstation controller, and does not have international safety certification. The Sub-7 is fully certified, and has an array of controls for normal manoeuvres, emergency response and communications with the surface.But then there's the size.
You'd only expect to stay on the Sub-7 for an hour or two - eight hours at the most - and I don't think you'd want to stay longer.
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