I read a retrospective analysis of the collision that speculated the ship might have survived if the Captain had directed the helm to steer directly into the berg. The bow would have been crushed, but the watertight compartments would have been secure and the ship would have been afloat. As it was, the glancing blow opened a gash that went the length of the ship, above the line of the reinforced hull, defeating all the compartmentalization. The ship was settling bow first and when the waterline met the gash, the ship's fate was sealed. In so many ways, our "common sense" reflexes can be absolutely the wrong thing to do.