A US military plane which landed at Jersey Airport on Thursday morning to collect equipment for the Titanic sub search has left the Island without the kit after the crew ran out of flying hours.
The C17 aircraft landed around dawn and work began to load a remotely operated vehicle from UK company Magellan.
However, there was a ‘glitch’ while loading the kit which delayed the operation, and the crew have been forced to return to their base as they were running out of flying hours.
The aircraft left Jersey at about 4.30pm. A new Globemaster C17 was sent to replace it.
A massive search and rescue effort was launched in the North Atlantic after the submersible Titan, which was exploring the wreck of the Titanic and had five people on board, went missing deep under the ocean on Sunday.
Contact with the crew was lost shortly after the submersible began its dive. There was limited oxygen on board, and it is estimated that supplies would run out on Thursday.
The equipment from Jersey will take about 48 hours to get to the site – which is beyond the timeline given for air for the passengers.
It will be able to dive the full depth of the site, and the team has a detailed knowledge of the deep sea area, having been there recently to survey the wreck of the Ocean Liner, which sank in 1912.
The rescue sub had been ready to leave since earlier in the week but has been held up by red tape.
In an update on Thursday afternoon, the US Coastguard said that a debris field had been discovered within the search area by an ROV near the Titanic.
