Boat captain: Thunderous hiss before Deepwater Horizon blew

[babylonsister]

Boat captain: Thunderous hiss before Deepwater Horizon blew

Deepwater Horizon burns in the Gulf of Mexico

The offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon burns in the Gulf of Mexico shortly before it sank April 22. |

By Mark Washburn | McClatchy Newspapers


KENNER, La. — First a geyser of mud and gas erupted on the Deepwater Horizon with a thunderous hiss, followed about two minutes later by a "green flash" and deafening concussion, the captain of a boat parked beside the rig said Tuesday.

"I saw mud falling on the back of my boat, sort of a black rain," said Alwin Landry, standing watch on the support vessel Damon B. Bankston.

Landry told a federal inquiry into the April 20 explosion and the deaths of 11 crewmen that he immediately radioed the bridge of the rig when the mud rained down and was told something had gone wrong.

"I was advised they were having trouble with the well ... I heard the concern in the voice of the operator," Landry said, and he ordered his crew to disconnect a hose tethering his ship to the Deepwater Horizon.

Suddenly, a green flash on the main deck of the rig behind the derrick caught his eye, then the concussion of the initial blast.

Crewmen of the Bankston were able to rescue the 115 surviving workers from the Deepwater, including some who leaped into the Gulf to escape the flaming rig.

more...

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/11/93917/boat-captain-thunderous-hiss-before.html

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. That would probably be the blowout.

But what do I know?

[librechik]

2. Guess they released The Krakken.

[chill_wind]

3. So many questions...

(...)

One of the last off the rig, Landry said, was Curt Kuchta, the Deepwater Horizon's captain, who told him he'd try to hit a "kill" switch, a device that would shut down dangerous systems prone to combustion.

"He pressed it and didn't know if it worked or not," Landry said.

Anthony Gervaso, the engineer aboard the Bankston, said he learned from his captain that rig workers had advised they were going to start "displacing the riser," meaning it would be removing mud that helped contain pressure deep in the drillshaft.

If true, that would be an unusual move because, commonly, two plugs are cemented into the hole to contain pressure before mud is removed. In the Deepwater Horizon well, only one cement seal had been set.

[Old Troop]

4. Consistent with a methane leak (or a Kraken)