Video of Titan submersible's wreckage at the bottom of the Atlantic released by the Coast Guard.
Video footage reveals remnants of the ship's explosion.
The Titan submersible wreckage at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean was captured on video by the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) following its implosure in June 2023, resulting in the tragic loss of all five lives on board.
The submersible's aft dome, aft ring, hull remnants, and carbon fiber debris were captured on camera by a remotely operated vehicle, lying on the ocean floor near Newfoundland, Canada.
A piece of carbon fiber was found near the tail cone of the vessel, which was previously captured on video by the MBI sitting 2½ miles below the surface on the ocean floor.
The Titan imploded within two hours of starting its descent towards the Titanic wreck on June 18, 2023.
The Titan's sub malfunctioned just before the fatal dive, as testified by the scientific director of the company that owned it on Thursday.
During a U.S. Coast Guard panel hearing, Steve Ross discussed a platform issue that occurred on an experimental submersible in June 2023, which resulted in the submersible imploding on its final voyage just days beforehand. Ross explained that the malfunction caused the passengers onboard to "tumble about," and it took an hour to rescue them from the water.
Ross stated that Stockton Rush, the co-founder of OceanGate, was operating the submersible when it collided with a bulkhead during a malfunction. Despite no injuries, Ross described the incident as uncomfortable.
"Ross stated that one passenger was dangling inverted while the others were able to fit into the bow end cap."
Ross expressed uncertainty about whether a safety assessment of the Titan's hull was conducted following the incident.
An investigatory panel had listened to three days of testimony that raised questions about the company's operations before the ill-fated mission that resulted in the deaths of Rush, father-son pair Shahzada Dawood and Suleman Dawood, and French mariner Paul-Henry Nargeolet by the end of Thursday.
On Thursday, Renata Rojas, OceanGate's mission specialist, informed the Coast Guard that the company's team was composed of skilled individuals who were dedicated to fulfilling people's aspirations.
Unlike earlier witnesses who portrayed the company as struggling from the top and prioritizing profit over science and safety, Rojas' testimony had a different tone.
"Rojas stated, "I was working with amazing people who were hardworking and striving to make their dreams a reality.""
She added that she believed the company was transparent enough before the Titanic dive.
Rojas testified on Thursday that although he knew the operation was risky, he never felt unsafe during it.
On Tuesday, David Lochridge, the former OceanGate operations director, informed Coast Guard investigators about a previous mission where he had a disagreement with CEO Stockton Rush, which resulted in an unfavorable outcome.
Despite being the only qualified submersible pilot at OceanGate, Lochridge, responsible for crew safety and pilot training, recalled that Rush insisted on piloting a 2016 voyage to the Andrea Doria shipwreck using the Cyclops 1 vessel.
He was removed from his position after he revealed that Cyclops 1 had numerous system failures and advised Rush not to operate a sub.
Despite Lochridge's warning, Rush took three people in a submersible to the wreck site of the Andrea Doria and wrecked the vessel. Lochridge said Rush refused to turn over the controls until a client aboard shouted at him, and then he threw the controller, described as a PlayStation controller, at his head.
After last year's implosion, OceanGate, a Washington-based company, temporarily halted its operations. Currently, the company has no full-time employees, but it is being represented by an attorney during the hearing, as stated in a press release to the Associated Press.
Since the beginning of the investigations, the company has fully cooperated with the Coast Guard and NTSB.
The hearing is anticipated to continue until Friday and beyond, with additional witnesses scheduled to testify.
This report was contributed to by Pilar Arias of Planet Chronicle Digital and The Associated Press.
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