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Mike Reiss: ‘Simpsons’ writer who went on OceanGate dive says missing Titanic sub's communication was 'crackly'

Mike Reiss noted the communication on the Titanic dive was 'almost like something from a World War II movie'

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: A popular TV writer who traveled aboard the missing Titanic submarine recently claimed that the vessel was plagued with communication issues. Mike Reiss, a writer and producer for 'The Simpsons', said he felt death "hung over" him throughout his journey last year. Operated by OceanGate Expeditions, a submersible known as Titan, which is intended to explore the wreckage of the Titanic, has been missing with five people on board in the Atlantic Ocean since Monday, June 19.

In 2022, Mike Reiss traveled with his wife aboard the Titan submarine to view the famous wreckage. Reflecting on his journey, Reiss told the Sun that the vessel encountered numerous communication and navigational problems during each of his three dives, including getting lost near the bow of the Titanic. He also noted that even though the journey was a "beautiful experience," he was constantly aware that misfortune or death could strike at any time. "I've taken three different dives with the company and every time communication was an issue," the 63-year-old TV showrunner said.

'Death just hangs over you'

Reiss further noted the communication on the Titanic dive “was crackly almost like something from a World War II movie.” “This is a new technology, and they're very much learning as they go with it but [communication] is probably the weakest link in the chain, and think in two of the three cases when I was there they were able to re-establish communication, but that seems to be the hardest part of this thing,” he stated, adding, “We lost communication on the Titanic dive, then we got them back, but it was crackly and then the problem would be literally communicating with the people on the surface about where we were.”

The ‘Simpsons’ writer also claimed that the Titan was lost for almost three hours while "blindly searching" for the location of the famous wreckage which lies 12,500ft beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. While he didn't necessarily think OceanGate's Titan was a disaster waiting to happen, he said he was well aware that anything could have happened at any time during any of his three dives. "The possibility of catastrophe and death just hangs over you - it's just a part of what you're doing, You sign a lengthy waiver before you get on the ship that mentions death three times on the first page. This isn't a tourism boat, this is exploration. And exploration can be incredibly dangerous.” he continued.

Titan's disappearance

The Titan was released around 4 am on Sunday, June 18, but lost contact with its mothership MV Polar Prince after 1 hour 45 minutes into the dive. It is believed that the submersible has one crew member and four other passengers on board, including British billionaire Hamish Harding, French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Pakistan millionaire Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman. The Boston Coast Guard estimated that passengers on board had 72 hours of oxygen left, and the carrier has a 'life support' of 96 hours. A rescue operation has been initiated to locate the Titan, with C-130s and P-8s from the US and Canada assisting in the search operations in the remote area of the ocean.