A $62 SanDisk SD card survived the tragic Titan submersible implosion: Here is how it was found and what was on it

The investigation into the fatal OceanGate Titan submersible has turned up an amazing technical discovery. The wreckage of the 2023 maritime exploration disaster has yielded an unlikely survivor: a consumer-grade $62 SanDisk SD card. The inexpensive accessory was found inside a SubC Rayfin Mk2 Benthic Camera.

The SanDisk Extreme Pro 512 GB SD card was fully intact amidst the scattered remains despite the extreme pressure on the Atlantic seabed.

How the SD card was found

The specialist camera was lodged close to the original debris field and was spotted during a follow-up expedition. The lens and circuit boards had been damaged. However, the camera storage compartment remained watertight, and engineers were able to retrieve the SD card at a Newfoundland lab.

Fortunately, the solid-state memory card had no physical damage. This allowed forensic specialists from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada to create a bit-for-bit clone of the card to help preserve its content and the card itself.

While photos of the SD card have been debranded, online sleuths have determined the maker and specifications of the memory card with almost certainty.

What was discovered

Investigators successfully accessed 12 images and 9 video clips, captured in 12.3 MP and 4K UHD resolutions. However, the visuals are not as exciting as most people would like, as they only depict the surroundings of the Marine Institute’s Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) workshop in Newfoundland. The SD card does not contain any imagery from the submersible’s final moments, as the camera was set to send data to an external drive during missions.

The institute collaborated with OceanGate prior to the accident, which explains why routine pre-dive footage found its way onto the SD card.

A surprising show of durability

It is interesting that a low-cost component with everyday applications survived an event and conditions that totally destroyed a deep-sea submersible. While the loss of life is highly regrettable, consumers will appreciate the remarkable resilience designed into the camera that made it possible for a SanDisk SD card to withstand one of the most extreme underwater disasters ever recorded.