Titanic sub: 'Glitch' in loading search vehicle in Jersey

Earlier a specialist vehicle owned by Guernsey company Magellan was being loaded on to a C17 at Jersey Airport before there was a "glitch"

There was earlier a "glitch" in loading specialist equipment on to a US transport plane due to be used in the search for a missing submarine.

The vehicle - owned by Guernsey firm Magellan - was supposed to be loaded on to a C17 at Jersey Airport.

It was planned to be used by the US Coastguard to help find the sub, which went missing with five people on board during a dive to the Titanic wreck.

Officials have since said they believe all five died in an "implosion".

Before this, Magellan CEO Richard Parkinson said there had been a "glitch" in getting the remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) on board to help the search.

"They've warped their pallets getting it on to the plane," he said.

"I believe it's something to do with the way it's been loaded. I don't think it happens very often, but it's happened here."

The ROV arrived at Jersey Airport earlier on Thursday before being taken off the C-17 aircraft following issues

He added the plane they had been loading the ROV on to would be returning to Belgium as the crew and pilots were now out of hours and the plan then was for another C17 Globemaster aircraft to arrive.

The first C-17 left the airport at about 16:40 BST and the second aircraft arrived at approximately 19:45 BST on Thursday.

Magellan's ROV was used last year to create a digital scan of the wreck of the cruise ship, which lies 3,800m (12,500ft) down in the Atlantic.

The BBC understands the ROV had been ready to leave since earlier in the week but had been held up by permissions.

• Live: Crew of Titan sub believed to be dead after 'catastrophic implosion'

• British father, his son and explorer among missing

Magellan, which is based in St Peter Port, Guernsey, said on its website it had offered its expertise "immediately" after being contacted by OceanGate, the firm behind the missing sub, on Monday.

The Titan submersible had begun a tour of the Titanic wreckage on Sunday morning

The company's ROV was called on because of its capabilities to dive the full depth of the site.

Its team also has a detailed knowledge of the deep sea area, having spent 200 hours there for the scanning project in the summer of 2022.

The BBC understands it was expected to take up to 60 hours to transport the equipment from Jersey to Newfoundland.

There was a "glitch" in loading the search vehicle and the plan was for it to be due to be moved to another aircraft

The C-17 Globemaster, the large military transporter which landed at Jersey Airport early on Thursday, brought with it loading equipment including ramps.

It was while the ROV was being loaded a glitch occurred.

'Quite challenging'

Ports of Jersey had said two more aircraft were expected to arrive on the island later in the day as part of the operation to transport the ROV and accompanying equipment to Newfoundland.

Two of those who were in the Titan, Paul-Henry Nargeolet and Hamish Harding, were both members of the Explorers Club, a century-old international organisation involved in scientific explorations.

The second aircraft arrived at Jersey Airport at about 19:45 BST

Overnight, its president Richard Garriott de Cayeux said on Twitter Magellan's equipment contribution "should have been accepted sooner".

During its mapping expedition in 2022, Magellan captured images of gold jewellery featuring the tooth of a Megalodon, a prehistoric shark and said it would attempt to trace its original owner.

Alistair Varrie, head of aerodrome operations for Ports of Jersey said: "It's quite an unusual aircraft for us to have in here, it's about as big as it gets for us here".

He said Jersey Airport was only able to accommodate one aircraft of its size at a time.

Mr Varrie said it had been "quite challenging" to keep the airport open with passenger flights running.

Follow BBC Jersey on Twitter and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].