Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421

The plane now has no power, and not even the MedLink phone works. Andy is furious; he and Will physically fight until Kit and Kaholo break them up. Kit tries to calm the group down and tells them to get ready for when the rescue team arrives, which means removing the wires and insulation from the ceiling.

Chris demands to know if the passengers are still okay. Larson assumes that their electricity went out, though they do not know how or why. They explain the new plan to Chris; Caputo, the Navy’s lead diver, displays images of the plane and the broken cockpit window. According to the aircraft’s specs, the door to the cockpit is not airtight, and the divers can open the door without affecting the air pocket inside the plane. The plan is to escort the passengers out one by one by equipping each with a submarine escape immersion equipment (SEIE) suit, which is a watertight, full-body diving suit with a breathing apparatus. Chris objects to this; the passengers are not physically or psychologically trained to do this. Tanner admits that using these suits typically requires extensive training, which only 32% of divers complete successfully.