During a press conference, the US Coast Guard announced that a "banging noise" was heard by Canadian aircraft. The source of the banging sound is currently unknown.
Reports indicate that on Wednesday, authorities detected these banging noises, which were coming from underwater within the OceanGate submersible search area. According to the US Coast Guard, these banging sounds came in 30-minute intervals, and efforts to pinpoint exactly where they were coming from have so far been unsuccessful. The data was sent to the US Navy for analysis, and unfortunately, the US Navy said the data was "inconclusive".
Captain Jamie Frederick of the US Coast Guard said, "The important piece is we're searching in the area where the noises were detected." Adding, "We don't know what they are, to be frank with you. We have to remain optimistic and hopeful." It should be noted that the five passengers aboard the submersible had 70 to 90 hours of oxygen left, which means the total oxygen supply could be spent on Thursday morning.
Frank Owen, a former Australian submarine officer and now search-and-rescue director, spoke to the New York Post and said that he's confident the noises are coming from within the submarine.
"Onboard the Titan is the French former Navy diver, the Titanic expert [Paul-Henri Nargeolet]. But also because he's a diver, he understands the way search forces look for submarines that are lost ... submariners are taught that if they're stuck in a disabled submarine on the hour and the half-hour they bang the hull for three minutes, then they stop. They don't make any more noise." "This tells me a huge amount," said Owen.