A US Coast Guard crew member aboard an HC-130 Hercules searches for the 21-foot Titan submersible about 900 miles East of Cape Cod in Boston in June, 2023. The Titan was carrying tourists to space of the Titanic disaster. File photo by US Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Amber Howie/EPA-EFE
September 19 (UPI) — OceanGate’s chief science officer testified Thursday that the private company Titan had malfunctioned in the days leading up to the failed 2023 mission that ended in disaster, killing five crew and passengers on board. of going to the sinking Titanic.
OceanGate’s director of science, Steven Ross, told the US Coast Guard team investigating the fatal incident that the Titan underwater capsule malfunctioned after several days. before it descended into the North Atlantic on what was to be its final mission.
He testified that a malfunction of the platform shook the submarine during the dive before killing it, and that the incident caused the Titans to “flip “. OceanGate co-founder Stockton Rush fell victim, Ross said during his testimony to the investigative panel on Thursday.
“The other passenger was hanging,” Ross said. “The other two were able to isolate themselves.”
He did not know whether the Titan ship was inspected after the incident, he added.
Ross’s testimony followed that of OceanGate’s chief operating officer David Lochridge, who gave his stark assessment of the business environment at the company, and what he said was Rush’s style of playing fast and hard. who is loose with the rules.
Lochridge told the group on Tuesday that the company’s motive was to make a profit, that OceanGate ignored obvious safety issues, and that “very little” science was involved in the sub’s diving.
That testimony was disputed by Renata Rojas, a missionary with ties to OceanGate years ago. Rojas took the role after completing several dives with Rush and Lochridge. Rojas quit his banking job to take up the job, inspired by his passion for underwater exploration.
He said that everyone who works in the company is driven by the same curiosity and curiosity.
“I was learning a lot and working with amazing people,” Rojas testified. “Some of those people are hard-working people who were trying to make dreams come true.”
Rojas admitted during his testimony that he knew the submarine was not inspected by the Coast Guard and that it was not built to industry standards, but officials OceanGate was open about their company and told prospective employees that Titan was “experimental and unorganized.” He said he has always felt safe on the ship and even visited the Titanic’s wreckage on his first dive.
He continued: “I found them to be very transparent about everything. “Anyone can ask any questions, and if you ask questions, like ‘I want to see the monitoring systems for this dive, it’s like, ‘Come on. I’ll show you.’
The Coast Guard said earlier this week that the crew of the Titan sent a message during the dangerous dive that “all is well” before the fatal crash. It was the last communication from the Titan before the plosion that killed all 5 crew and passengers and left the remains of the ship scattered on the floor of the North Atlantic.
Before it was clear that the sub was lost, rescue workers and rescue experts from around the world, including the US Navy, began a massive rescue effort to try to save the ship and its crew.
#Submersible #Titan #malfunctioning #fatal #dive #OceanGate #science #officer #UPI.com