VESSEL WITH FIVE PEOPLE ON BOARD. BUT OVERNIGHT, IT POSITIVE SIGN THAT THE CREW MAY STILL BE ALIVE. JOINING US NOW IS SCIENTIST, JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR. MICHAEL, THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO JOIN US. WE WANT TO GET RIGHT TO YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE. SHARE YOUR STORY WITH US. YOU TOOK A TOUR DOWN TO THE TITANIC IN 2000 AND SOMETHING SIMILAR HAPPEN. TELL US ABOUT THAT. >> I HAVE BEEN INVITED TO BECOME ONE OF THE FIRST CORRESPONDENCE TO REPORT ON THE TITANIC IN SEPTEMBER 2000. EVEN THOUGH I HAVE A FEAR OF WATER, I ACCEPTED IT AS PART OF MY JOB. WE LEFT NOVA SCOTIA, HALIFAX, WHERE A LOT OF THE PEOPLE ARE BURIED, AS YOU NOW. WE WENT ABOVE THE TITANIC, POSITIONED OURSELVES AND DOVE DOWN. IT TOOK ABOUT 2.5 HOURS TO GET DOWN. EVERYTHING WAS GOING FINE. WE TOURED THE BOW, THEN WE WENT ACROSS AND APPROACHED THE STERN AREA. YOU'LL RECALL THAT WHEN THE TITANIC SANK IT BROKE INTO TWO PIECES. THE BOW WENT STRAIGHT DOWN, THE STERN DID A SOMERSAULT AND LANDED ON ITS BACK. SO MY EYES WERE ON THE PROPELLER. I THOUGHT, IT'S SO SHINY, IT JUST STANDS OUT DOWN THERE, EVERYTHING. THEN I NOTICED THE SUBMERSIBLE WAS GOING FASTER AND FASTER. I THOUGHT, WHY ARE WE GOING FASTER, WE SHOULD BE SLOWING DOWN APPROACHING THIS GIANT PROPELLER. I LATER FOUND OUT THAT WE HAD THE BAD LUCK OF BEING CAUGHT UP IN A VERY STRONG UNDERWATER CURRENT. THEY DO EXIST DOWN THERE. IT SMACKED US RIGHT INTO THE BLADES OF THE PROPELLER. I KNEW IMMEDIATELY FROM THE COLLISION AND ALSO FROM THE BIG PIECES OF RUSTED METAL COMING DOWN ON US FROM THE TITANIC THAT WE WERE IN A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION. IT WAS COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED. >> Heather: I AM SPEECHLESS LISTENING TO YOU DESCRIBED THIS. WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND, AND HOW LONG WERE YOU STOCK? HOW DID THEY GET YOU OUT OF THERE? >> I DIDN'T PANIC. I WORRIED THAT OTHERS MIGHT PANIC. I HAD BEEN TOLD WHEN WE WERE BEING PREPARED FOR THE DIVE THAT IN THE PAST, PEOPLE WHO PANICKED WOULD GO RIGHT TO THE HATCH, THINKING THEY COULD ESCAPE AND, OF COURSE,, OUT TO THEIR DEMISE. SO I WAS VERY CONSCIOUS THAT I WAS GOING TO TACKLE ANYBODY WHO EVEN DARED TO LOOK AT THE HATCH. THEN MY SCIENTIFIC BRAIN KICKED IN. I AM A PROFESSIONAL PROBLEM SOLVER AND I THOUGHT, THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. THERE HAS TO BE IN SOLUTION. AS I THOUGHT OF THE POSSIBILITIES, I THOUGHT OF HOW MUCH OXYGEN WE HAD LEFT AND SO FORTH, I REALIZED QUICKLY THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WE COULD DO. OUR ONLY HOPE WAS OUR PILOT, WHO WAS IT FORMER PILOT WHO WAS USED TO HAVE SIX -- USED TO SITUATIONS WITH A COOL HEAD UNDER PRESSURE. HE WAS IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION, UNLIKE THIS MISSING SHIP. OUR PILOT HAD CONSTANT COMMUNICATION WITH THE MOTHERSHIP, THE RESEARCH SHIP ABOVE US. AND IN THE END, IT WAS THE BETTER PART OF AN HOUR, WHICH SEEMED LIKE AN ETERNITY WHEN I NOTICED SOMETHING HAPPENED. THE VEHICLE QUIETED DOWN. UP UNTIL THEN THE PILOT WAS TRYING TO PULL IT OUT OF RANGE. WHEN IT WENT SILENT I THOUGHT, EVEN IF IT'S GOOD NEWS OR BAD NEWS, IT WOULD BE BAD IT -- BAD NEWS IF THE ENGINE DIED AND WE WERE LITERALLY DEAD IN THE WATER. WE HADN'T SPOKEN TO THE PILOT, WE WANTED TO LEAVE HIM ALONE, HE WAS FOCUSED ON TRYING TO RESCUE US. BUT FINALLY I COULDN'T RESIST. I ASKED THEIR ONE-WORD QUESTION QUESTION. I LOOKED AT HIM AND I SAID "OKAY ?” HE TURNED TO ME, AND IN THIS VERY THICK RUSSIAN ACCENT SAID "NO PROBLEM." THAT WAS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. YOU WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT WE HAD WON THE LOTTERY 1 MILLION TIMES OVER. I'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED SUCH A SENSE OF JOY AND RELIEF. I'D ALREADY RESIGNED MYSELF TO DYING, NEVER SEEING MY WIFE AGAIN, THINKING THAT MY SPIRIT WOULD JOIN THE SPIRITS OF THE PEOPLE WHO DIED DOWN THERE AND JUST BECOME ONE OF THEM. SO IT WAS AN ENORMOUS RELIEF. THAT'S WHAT I'M HOPING WILL HAPPEN WITH THESE FIVE SOULS THAT ARE IN THIS TIGHTEN SUBMERSIBLE. BUT IT'S NOT LOOKING GOOD, I HAVE TO SAY. >> Heather: YOU WERE DOWN THERE FOR ABOUT ONE HOUR, AND THEN RESURFACED RIGHT AWAY. >> RIGHT. IT TAKES 2.5 HOURS TO GO DOWN, THEN WE TOURED FOR ABOUT THREE HOURS, AND THEN WE WERE STUCK FOR THE BETTER PART OF AN HOUR AND IT TOOK YET ANOTHER 2.5 HOURS TO GET UP THERE. THEN THE STUDENT -- SCUBA DIVERS HAVE TO COME HOOK YOU UP WITH THE CRANE, HALL YOU UP. IT WAS AN NAILBITER FOR MORE THAN EIGHT HOURS. 8-9 HOUR DRAMA ALL TOLD. THESE POOR PEOPLE HAVE BEEN THERE FOR DAYS. IT'S TAKING ME BACK, AND IT'S NOT PLEASANT. BUT I'M DOING THESE INTERVIEWS TO INDICATE TO PEOPLE JUST HOW SERIOUS THIS IS. I DON'T SEE IT AS A TOURIST ATTRACTION, FIRST OF ALL BECAUSE IT'S DANGEROUS. THE NORTH ATLANTIC IS COLD, PRESSURE IS ENORMOUS. BUT IT'S ALSO SERIOUS BECAUSE IT'S A GRAVEYARD. IT'S NOT JUST THE RACK OF A SHIP. PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES DOWN THERE. THAT REALLY CAME HOME TO ME WHEN WE WENT DOWN THERE. WHEN WE APPROACH THE BOW, WE TOLD THE PILOT TO STOP AND HAD A MOMENT OF PRAYER FOR THE MOMENT -- THE PEOPLE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES. AND IT'S ALL COMING BACK TO ME. I REALLY FEEL KINSHIP WITH THESE POOR PEOPLE, FORCING ME TO JUST RELIVE THAT TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE. >> Heather: I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT IS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND AS THESE DAYS GO ON, AND WE CONTINUE TO COVER THIS STORY. WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE YOU SHARING YOUR STORY. I DO WANT TO JUST ASK YOU, IF YOU EVER REALLY FOUND OUT WHAT EXACTLY WENT WRONG DURING YOUR MISSION. >> THE SHIP OPERATED BEAUTIFULLY. THE SHIP THAT I WAS ON, THIS IS THE BIG DIFFERENCE, THAT'S IN GOOD QUESTION. THE SHIP THAT I WAS ON, THE SUBMERSIBLE WAS IN MACHINE BILLED FOR A SERIOUS PURPOSE. IT WAS BUILT ORIGINALLY FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND HAD BEEN TESTED OVER TIME. SO EVEN THOUGH WE HAD THIS COLLISION, WE DIDN'T BREACH THE HOLLOW. WE COULD HAVE, AND THEN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN GAME OVER RIGHT AWAY. BUT IMAGINE THAT. WE HAD THE COMMUNICATION, BECAUSE THE MOTHERSHIP COULDN'T DO ANYTHING FOR US. IN THE END IT WAS REALLY THE SKILL OF THE PILOT. I'M REALLY GRATEFUL TO VICTOR, OUR PILOT FOR GETTING US OUT OTHERWISE I WOULDN'T BE HERE TALKING TO YOU. I WOULD STILL BE DOWN THERE 2.5 MILES UNDER THE WATER. THIS SHIP THAT'S MISSING WAS BILLED FOR TOURISM. I KNOW NASA WAS INVOLVED IN ITS DESIGN, BUT NASA HAS ISSUED A PRESS RELEASE MAKING IT CLEAR THEY WERE NOT INVOLVED IN ANY TESTING. SO WHAT WE DON'T KNOW IS HOW SCIENTIFIC THIS WAS. I'M CONCERNED THAT THIS COMPANY, OCEANGATE, I'M NOT MAKING ANY ACCUSATIONS AND THIS IS NOT THE TIME AND PLACE TO DO IT, BUT SINCE YOU ASKED THE QUESTION, THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH OUR SHIP. WE WERE JUST -- I WAS JUST FORTUNATE. I COULD JUST AS EASILY HAVE LOST MY LIFE DOWN THERE. THAT'S WHY I'M HOPING FOR IN MIRACLE. BUT THEY'RE SITUATION IS DIFFERENT. THEY'VE LOST COMMUNICATIONS. APART FROM THESE NOISES. AND WE DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THESE NOISES ARE BEING GENERATED BY THE OCCUPANTS, OR IT'S IT TRANSPONDER, OR WHETHER IT'S JUST SOMETHING, PIECE OF LOOSE METAL OR SOMETHING DOWN THERE. WE DON'T KNOW. BUT EVEN IF WE LOCATE IT, HOW DO WE GET IT UP? THE FRENCH ARE STUDYING IN ONE OF THEIR DEEP SUBMERSIBLES, BUT EVEN IF THEY CAN LOCATED, GRAB IT AND IF THIS FRENCH VEHICLE COULD GRAB THIS VEHICLE AND BRING IT TO THE SURFACE AND THEN HAVE TO UNBOLTED IN TIME -- AND WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME -- THEY MAY HAVE ALREADY LOST ALL THEIR OXYGEN. THESE PEOPLE ARE HYPERVENTILATING NO DOUBT, THEY'RE BREATHING HARD, UNDER STRESS. USE LIGHT -- USING OXYGEN FASTER THAN NORMAL. BUT AT THE MOST, IT'S TOMORROW MORNING. HOW DO YOU DO THAT? HOW DO YOU TRIANGULATE TAKES 2.5 HOURS TO GO DOWN, GRAB HOLD OF IT, INVESTIGATE, BRING IT RIGHT BACK UP, ANOTHER 2.5 HOURS AND UNBOLT THEM. I'M AN OPTIMIST BY NATURE, SO I'M NOT GIVING UP HOPE AND I'M STILL VISUALIZING THESE PEOPLE BEING BROUGHT OUT, AND WE CAN ALL CELEBRATE. THAT COULD HAPPEN. BUT RIGHT NOW, I'M JUST BEING HONEST, IT'S NOT LOOKING GOOD. >> Heather: MICHAEL, THIS HAS OBVIOUSLY BEEN INCREDIBLY HARD FOR YOU TO WATCH THIS NEWS AND TO SHARE YOUR OWN STORIES. WHY DO YOU CONTINUE AND CHOOSE TO SHARE YOUR STORY, AND KEEP WATCHING? >> HALFWAY THROUGH YESTERDAY, I WAS TALKING TO MEDIA WHO WANTED TO UNDERSTAND MY EXPERIENCE AND HOW IT MIGHT RELATE TO THE CURRENT SITUATION. AND OBVIOUSLY IT RELATES DIRECTLY TO IT. I CAN GIVE PEOPLE AT LEAST AN IDEA OF THE DANGERS AND HAZARDS INVOLVED. THAT'S WHY I DO IT. HALFWAY THROUGH THIS MORNING, I WAS TELLING MY WIFE, I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN KEEP GOING. IT'S EXHAUSTING ME PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY BUT I FEEL AN OBLIGATION FOR THOSE FIVE SOULS TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THERE IS STILL HOPE. UNTIL WE KNOW FOR SURE WE'VE RUN OUT OF OXYGEN, AND I WANT TO BE IN MESSENGER OF HOPE. I ALSO WANT TO BE THE VOICE THAT SAYS, I HAVE BEEN THREW THAT. I KNOW WHAT THEY ARE EXPERIENCING. ANYONE WHO'S CONTEMPLATING GOING DOWN TO THE TITANIC, DON'T THINK OF IT IS SOME RECREATIONAL DESTINATION. THIS IS NOT DISNEYLAND. HAVE RESPECT FOR MOTHER NATURE, FOR THE OCEAN. IT'S MERCILESS. IT'S UNFORGIVING. AND SECOND, TREAT THIS SITE AS IT SHOULD BE. IT'S SACRED GROUND. IT'S A CEMETERY WHERE PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES. THAT'S MY CENTRAL MESSAGE AND THAT'S WHAT KEEPS ME GOING. >> Heather: MICHAEL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE TIME TO SHARE THIS MESSAGE WITH US AND OUR
