(inspired by a question on reddit, I’ll post a reply too)
It’s also possible it has floated to the surface and they can’t locate it because it’s very hard to see when surfaced.
That sub has melt away ballast connections. The attachments to what allows the sub to sink will melt away after 8? hours. So it may have floated back up.
Problem is they are bolted in from the outside and they have no communications working.
I read an account that a person standing on the recovery ship, could not pick out the sub when it was right next to the ship. It sits so low in the water with barely anything above the surface.
Short answer: ocean is very big, submersible is very small.
Long answer: Imagine going out on a football pitch with a white paint marker. Randomly walk around and pick a single blade of grass to paint white. Now grab someone that didn’t observe you and tell them to find the painted blade of grass. Also tell them they have a limited time, and that you might have pushed the blade of grass doen into the ground.
There has to be a solution that would have allowed them to send a buoy up to transmit a mayday and coordinates like some life boats do. This would help the rescue teams to narrow the search grid. I wouldn’t have gone down in that thing, but if I WAS, I would at least feel better with something like that.
