‘Simpsons’ Writer Mike Reiss Recalls Own Trip to Titanic on Missing Sub: ‘Constant Trepidation’ (Video)
Mike Reiss, a writer for “The Simpsons,” had “constant trepidation” when he took a dive on OceanGate’s now-missing Titan sub 11 months ago.
“I kissed my wife goodbye, thinking that was the last time I might ever see her,” he told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday as the rescue efforts continued for the five people aboard the Titan. Like every other passenger, he signed a waiver that this voyage in an uncertified vessel could end in death.
However, he found the sub’s simple design “reassuring” and admitted to falling asleep during the two-and-a-half-hour dive, even though he was “constantly knowing this could be the end.”
Watch the video above. Tapper’s interview begins 3:15 into the clip.
OceanGate lost contact on Sunday and has not yet been found as of this writing, despite a concentrated search by the Coast Guard. According to Reiss, glitches with the communication system were common.
“I took four different dives with the company and communication was lost at least briefly every single time,” he shared. “One dive we took, as soon as communication went out, we went right back to the surface. I was going to see a U-boat just off the shore of New York.”
Despite these mishaps, Reiss lived to tell the tale each time. He told Tapper of the Everett, Washington-based company: “They’re not hot dogs. They’re not daredevils. They take this very seriously.”
His high opinion stands in direct contrast with “Expedition Unknown” host Josh Gates, who tweeted on Tuesday that he canceled his own Titanic dive with the company because he didn’t feel the submersible was safe.
