Titan submersible malfunctioned days before fatal Titanic dive, scientific director says
The submersible that imploded in June 2023 on its way to visit the Titanic malfunctioned days before its final voyage, the scientific director of the company that owned the craft said during a US Coast Guard investigation. Other testimonies indicate a lack of safety checks before the unconventionally designed craft set sail.
The scientific director for the company that owned the Titan submersible that imploded last year while on its way to the Titanic wreckage testified Thursday that the sub had malfunctioned just prior to the fatal dive.
Appearing before a U.S. Coast Guard panel, Steven Ross told the board about a platform issue the experimental submersible experienced in June 2023, just days before it imploded on its way to the Titanic site. The malfunction caused passengers onboard the submersible to “tumble about,” and it took an hour to get them out of the water.
The submersible pilot, OceanGate co-founder Stockton Rush, crashed into bulkheading during the malfunction, Ross said. No one was injured in the incident, Ross said, though he described it as uncomfortable.
“One passenger was hanging upside down. The other two managed to wedge themselves into the bow end cap,” Ross said, adding that he did not know if a safety assessment of the Titan or an inspection of its hull was performed after the incident.
“I was learning a lot and working with amazing people,” Rojas said. “Some of those people are very hardworking individuals that were just trying to make dreams come true.”
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