Eerie simulation from Titan sub hearing reveals what really happened on ‘doomed’ voyage
A simulation has revealed the final moments of the Titan submersible which imploded on its way to the Titanic wreck.
On June 18, 2023, an expedition to view the sunken ship went horribly wrong when the Titan lost contact with its support vessel roughly an hour and 45 minutes into a two-and-a-half-hour descent.
It sparked an international manhunt to to track down the missing sub which had plunged 12,400ft - more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon - under the North Atlantic Ocean.
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The US Coast Guard announced the sub had between 70 and 96 hours before it ran out of oxygen, while a rhythmic banging noise gave some people hope that they might simply be trapped underwater.
Sadly all five on board were pronounced dead after the implosion. They were British-Pakistani businessman 48-year-old Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman; British businessman Hamish Harding, aged 58; 77-year-old former French navy diver Paul-Henry Nargeolet; and 61-year-old American businessman Stockton Rush, whose company OceanGate ran the expedition.
Four days after the search was launched debris of the sub was discovered.
Now, a public hearing into exactly what happened is taking place.
On September 16, the US Coast Guard commenced the hearing to investigate the fatal implosion of the sub and deduce if there is anyone to blame for the tragic incident.
As part of it, the Marine Board presented an animation model which appears to track the sub's final moments.
The 10-minute long simulation reveals the dialogue between the sub and the support ship before it lost contact.
On Tuesday (September 17), former employee of OceanGate David Lochridge testified, revealing 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.
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 criticized the 'arrogance' within the company, along with the 'control freak' tendencies of Stockton Rush.
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.
One of the last texts from submersible revealed
One of Titan’s final responses was revealed to be: "All good here."
Titan 'struck by lightning'
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 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.
Topics: Court, Titanic, US News, Titan submersible
Joe Yates