Aviation Luminary Among Missing Onboard Submersible

Hamish Harding—the chairman of Dubai-based aircraft brokerage Action Aviation, an air transport pilot, and a Living Legend of Aviation—is among five individuals onboard the Titan submersible that lost contact during a visit to the Titanic site on June 18.

Harding is one of four commercial “mission specialists” who paid to join the vessel’s pilot on the 13,000-foot descent to view the Titanic’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 “proud to finally announce that I joined @oceangateexped for their RMS TITANIC Mission as a mission specialist on the sub going down to the Titanic.” He added that the expedition was likely to be the only manned mission to the Titanic this year given that Newfoundland had experienced its worst winter in 40 years.

“A weather window has just opened up and we are going to attempt a dive tomorrow,” he wrote.

A noted adventurer who flew into space as a commercial astronaut aboard Blue Origin’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. “The business is great. The business is booming still,” he told BJT recently.

In a message on the Action Aviation website this morning, the company and Harding’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. “The team at Action Aviation are extremely proud of Hamish and we look forward to welcoming him home.”