OceanGate director admits Titan sub malfunctioned just before fatal Titanic dive
The scientific director of OceanGate said as well as experiencing problems, the Titan submersible malfunctioned shortly before its doomed dive.
Steven Ross said that during the malfunction which occurred in June 2023, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush crashed into the bulkhead and passengers in the sub started to 'tumble about'.
Speaking to a US Coast Guard panel, he said: "One passenger was hanging upside down. The other two managed to wedge themselves into the bow end cap."
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He also said there had been a platform issue prior to the malfunction, and it took an hour to get everyone out of the water.
Ross added to the panel that he didn't know whether there was any assessment of the Titan sub's hull following the incident.
At the moment, there are inquiries and panels looking into the sub implosion which occurred last year and resulted in the deaths of OceanGate's CEO Stockton Rush, the British explorer Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman, and veteran French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
New footage showing the discovery of some of the wreckage of the Titan has shown some parts of the submersible reduced to smithereens, and other parts still appearing to largely keep their shape following the destruction of the sub.
In the aftermath of the sub's disappearance, the US Coast Guard said it had likely suffered a 'catastrophic implosion'.
The final words heard from the Titan were 'all good' shortly before the surface vessel Polar Prince lost contact with it.
Former OceanGate staff members have been telling the inquiries about the dangers the Titan sub posed to its occupants.
David Lochridge used to be the marine operations director for the company and tried to raise the alarm about how dangerous the vessel's design was, but was ignored.
He then wrote in an email about his worry that that Rush 'kills himself and others in the quest to boost his ego' after finding a number of problems with the Titan.
Lochridge also said that Stockton Rush wanted people to be able to pilot the Titan within an hour of being handed a PlayStation controller connected to it.
Former OceanGate engineering director Tony Nissen said he was unsurprised that the Titan 'failed where it did', and said that he once told Rush he was 'not getting in it'.
The US Coast Guard hearing is one part of the investigation into the destruction of the Titan and the five deaths that resulted.
Titan sub inquiry - everything we know from the investigation so far
A public hearing into the five deaths of the people onboard OceanGate's ill-fated Titan submersible began on Monday (16 September).
It is expected to last two weeks.
Titan was 'unregistered, non-certificated and unclassed'
The first day of the hearing heard how the submersible was built in 2020 and was 'unregistered, non-certificated and unclassed', as well as having no identification number.
The submersible's hull was never subject to third-party checks and officials said it was left exposed to the elements while in storage for seven months in 2022 and 2023.
Parts of Titan 'bonded together using an adhesive'
In 2017, the year OceanGate announced it would be conducting trips to the Titanic, employees bonded together the submersible's carbon fibre hull and titanium rings 'using an adhesive'.
Titan found 'partially sunk' month before tragedy
During its 2023 expedition, the Titan was found 'partially sunk' in the ocean.
Image released of Titan debris on sea floor
An image showing debris, including the Titan's tail cone, on the sea floor after the implosion was revealed.
Titan lost contact with support ship
Those onboard the Titan were communicating with support staff on the Polar Prince ship by text messages.
After a number of exchanges, Titan crew lost contact with Polar Prince as it descended.
One of the last texts from submersible revealed
One of Titan’s final responses was revealed to be: "All good here."
Titan 'struck by lightening'
Tony Nissen, OceanGate Expeditions’ former engineering director, testified that the Titan was hit by lightning during a test mission in 2018.
Nissen, who was allegedly fired in 2019 after not letting the submersible go to the Titanic, told OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush it was 'not working like we thought it would'.
When asked to pilot the submersible, Nissen said: “I’m not getting in it.”
Titan engineer 'felt pressure to get submersible ready for wreck dive'
When asked if there was pressure to get the Titan into the water, Nissen replied: “100%.”
Waivers
While Bonnie Carl, OceanGate's former human resources and finance director, said she was aware of a waiver people had to sign, she testified she 'never saw anyone sign anything'.
"When I was taking money, we hadn't even finished building the Titan," Carl claimed.
'No red flags' on day Titan went missing
Former OceanGate contractor Tym Catterson said: "There were no red flags... it was a good day."
Footage of Titan wreckage released by US Coast Guard
New, unseen footage of the doomed Titan sub has been released to the public by the US Coast Guard, with the camera panning around to see the tail cone of the sub on the ocean floor.
Whistleblower says implosion was 'inevitable'
Former employee of OceanGate David Lochridge gave evidence on Tuesday (17 September) and revealed how he warned of potential safety problems with the vessel as far back as 2018, which he says were ignored.
Lochridge, who was fired from the company in 2018, told investigators that it was 'inevitable' something would eventually go wrong, and when asked if he had any confidence in the way Titan was being built, he stated: "No confidence whatsoever, and I was very vocal about that, and still am."
"A lot of steps along the way were missed," Lochridge added. "I knew that hull would fail. It's an absolute mess."
He also criticised the 'arrogance' within the company, along with the 'control freak' tendencies of Stockton Rush.
Topics: Titan Submersible, Titanic, World News
Joe Harker