When the Titanic hit the iceberg, would it have been realistic for survivors to have saved themselves by getting onto the iceberg, or smaller broken bits of it?

by thefourthchipmunk

Something tells me this is really a question for Ask Science, but I'll see what I can get.

stickmanDave

You may find this site informative.

The iceberg was spotted about 37 seconds before the collision. Sea trials indicated that stopping the Titanic from full speed took over 3 minutes.
Thus, by the time the ship was brought to a halt, the iceberg would have been well out of sight.

Once it was established that the ship was sinking, I can't imagine anyone seriously considered delaying evacuation to restart the crippled ship (risking further damage) and attempting to find the iceberg (risking another collision) in the slim hope (icebergs tend to have very steep sides) of finding a spot on the iceberg where lifeboats could offload passengers. To do so would have risked sinking with all hands.

I know this answer really isn't up to askHistorians standards, and yes, the question is probably better asked in another subreddit, perhaps one where captains and crew of large ships might comment on procedures and practical considerations.