Air France Black Box Seeking Sub is Titanic Veteran

June 5 (Bloomberg) -- The mini-submarine France is sending to search for the black boxes of the Air France Airbus plane that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean has scooped up silverware from the Titanic and plugged holes in a sunken oil tanker.

 

The eight-meter long Nautile and its sister submarine, the Victor 6000, are on their way to the crash zone aboard the oceanographic research ship Pourquoi Pas?, or “Why Not?” They are due to arrive in the search area around June 12.

 

“If they can locate the general zone that the black boxes are in, there’s a very good chance that the Nautile can find it,” said Paul-Henri Nargeolet, the vessel’s chief pilot from 1986 to 1996. “There’s hardly any other sub in the world that can go so deep, detect so much, and maneuver so well.”

 

Pourquoi Pas? will join as many as seven other ships and 11 airplanes looking for debris of the Airbus SAS A330-200 that broke up June 1 en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with 228 people on board. The search is focused on a zone about 650 kilometers (405 miles) northeast of Brazil’s Fernando de Noronha island, off the northeastern coast.

 

“The current operations are intended to collect as much debris as possible before they are dispersed by winds and currents,” Christophe Prazuck, a spokesman for the French military, said at a briefing June 4. “It’s a mission that’s counted in hours or days. The Pourquoi Pas? will look for the black boxes, which can take weeks.”

 

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Titanic: The Artifact Exhibtion

Experience RMS Titanic's compelling human stories as best told through authentic artifacts and extensive room re-creations - Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition takes viewers on a chronological journey through the story of Titanic.

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Featured artifact

Dominion of Canada $10 Bank Note; Bank of Montreal

 

Before the Bank of Canada was established in 1934, bank notes were issued by chartered banks or by the federal government.  This bill, from the Bank of Montreal, was issued in January 1904.

 

This bill measures just over 7” in length and is one of twelve pieces of Canadian currency recovered by RMS Titanic, Inc.  It has suffered some iron staining around the edges, as well as some permanent creases from previous folds; it is otherwise in excellent condition.

 

Many third-class passengers boarded Titanic carrying their family fortunes in their wallets and money belts.  The wealthy passengers aboard brought plenty of cash to pay for private extras and to tip the porters, waiters, and musicians who catered to them.

 

This amazing object can be viewed at The Montreal Eaton Centre in Montréal, Quebec through September 1, 2009.

Youngest Passenger and Last Survivor of The Titanic Passes

Millvina Dean, the youngest passenger on board Titanic and the last living survivor of the tragedy, has passed away at the age of 97 at a nursing home near Southampton, England.

“Millvina Dean will always hold a treasured place in history, and we are sorry to learn of her passing,” stated Chris Davino, Interim CEO, Premier Exhibitions, Inc. “Her life will continue to be celebrated and our deepest sympathy goes out to her family and friends who knew her so well.  Millvina was an unforgettable link to the story of the more than 2200 individuals on board that fateful night, and we will continue to honor her legacy and the stories of all passengers aboard the most famous Ship of all time."

RMS Titanic, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRXI) is the only company permitted by law to recover objects from the wreck site of Titanic. The Company was granted Salvor-in-possession rights to the wreck site of Titanic by a United States federal court in 1994 and has conducted seven research and recovery expeditions to Titanic’s debris field and recovered more than 5,500 artifacts.

Premier Exhibitions, Inc.

Premier Exhibitions, Inc., the parent company of RMS Titanic, Inc., is a developer of museum quality Exhibitions throughout the world. Visit PRXI.com for more information regarding Exhibitions by Premier Exhibitions, Inc.

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