Aviation Legend Harding Among Missing Onboard Titanic Sub
Action Aviation chairman and noted adventurer Hamish Harding is among those missing during a submersible trip to the Titanic.
Aviation legend Hamish Harding is one of five indivduals onboard a submersible that went missing on its way to visit the wreckage of the Titanic. (Photo: Action Aviation)

Hamish Hardingā€”the chairman of Dubai-based aircraft brokerage Action Aviation, an air transport pilot, and a Living Legend of Aviationā€”is among five individuals onboard the Titan submersible that lost contact during a visit to the Titanic site on Sunday morning.

Harding is one of four commercial ā€œmission specialistsā€ who paid to join the vesselā€™s pilot on the 13,000-foot descent to view the Titanicā€™s remains. The Titan is believed to have up to 96 hours of life support reserves, and a multinational search instituted by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Canadian military has been ongoing.

Ahead of the mission, Harding had posted a message on Instagram that he was ā€œproud to finally announce that I joined @oceangateexped for their RMS TITANIC Mission as a mission specialist on the sub going down to the Titanic.ā€ He added that the expedition was likely to be the first only manned mission to the Titanic this year given that Newfoundland had experienced its worst winter in 40 years.

ā€œA weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow,ā€ he wrote.

A noted adventurer who flew into space as a commercial astronaut aboard Blue Originā€™s New Shepard rocket last year, Harding set a world record for global circumnavigation in a Gulfstream G650ER in 2019, ventured to the South Pole multiple times, and has visited the Challenger Deep, the lowest depth on Earth.

A frequent speaker at aviation events, Harding has been a driving force in the brokerage market and full of optimism about the industry. ā€œThe business is great. The business is booming still,ā€ he told AIN recently.

In a message on the Action Aviation website this morning, the company and Hardingā€™s family expressed their gratitude for the continued efforts of the authorities and companies that have stepped in to aid the rescue efforts and requested privacy at this time. ā€œThe team at Action Aviation are extremely proud of Hamish and we look forward to welcoming him home.ā€