A submarine expert and engineer has presented a chilling vision of the final moments of the doomed Titan submersible’s crew. Video / NZ Herald / AP
One of the final messages from the doomed crew of the Titan submersible has been read before a hearing into the five men’s deaths, revealing before they said they were “all good” just before tragedy struck.
The US Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigations (MBI) heard its first day of evidence in a planned two-week hearing into the implosion of the privately-owned sub on its journey to the wreck of the Titanic last year.
The MBI heard that the crew had been communicating via text message with its mothership, the Polar Prince.
After beginning its descent at 9.17am local time, staff on the Polar Prince checked with the Titan’s crew about the weight and depth of the vessel.
Communications were reportedly patchy but after roughly one hour the crew messaged “all good here”.
The tail cone of the Titan on the sea floor. Photo / US Coast Guard
The two-week hearing into the catastrophe will feature evidence as to what went wrong and whether physical or design failure contributed to the accident, which garnered worldwide attention, AFP reports.
Tony Nissen, a former engineering director at US-based OceanGate, the company which operated the submersible, testified this week that he had been concerned by safety issues during his tenure, according to US media.
Nissen told the hearing, which is being held in South Carolina, that he had refused to sign off on a 2019 dive to the wreckage of the Titanic due to concerns over the Titan’s hull. He was fired later that year.
He said that the company’s CEO Stockton Rush, who was among those to die in the implosion, had been unfazed after learning of a potential 2018 lightning strike on the submersible and possible hull problems.
Refusing to believe news of the damage, Rush insisted “it’ll be OK”, Nissen said, according to testimony from the hearing published in The New York Times.
The vessel, which was about the size of an SUV car, is believed to have imploded during its June 18, 2023 descent.
The Titan lost contact about an hour and 45 minutes after plunging into the ocean, and a days-long rescue mission which captivated the world ensued before the sub’s failure was finally confirmed on June 22.
Victims are presumed to have died instantly in the disaster, which occurred under the crushing pressure of the North Atlantic at a depth of nearly 4km.
Apart from Rush, the four others on the Titan were British explorer Hamish Harding, French submarine expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani-British tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman.
A debris field was found 500m from the bow of the Titanic, which sits 640km off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in 1912 during its maiden voyage from England to New York, with 2224 passengers and crew on board. More than 1500 people died.
