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A tearful mission specialist recounted collecting personal belongings from the victims of the OceanGate sub before it dove under the water and found tragedy.
Renata Rojas, the mission specialist from the US submersible company that operated the expedition, tearfully addressed the US Coast Guard Titan Marine Board of Investigations panel on Thursday. She talked about her role in preparing missions and her own trips down to the Titanic wreckage.
Once Rojas was finished, former OceanGate scientific director Dr Steven Ross spoke about a frightening mission that left him and other passengers at the surface unable to get out of the Titan submersible.
“The rest of the passengers tumbled about,” he said. “I ended up standing on the rear bulkhead. One passenger was hanging upside down.”
They were just two of the witnesses who have testified to the panel investigating the “catastrophic implosion” of the Titan submersible that killed all five passengers.
Earlier this week, David Lochridge, a former OceanGate employee, stated he had “no confidence whatsoever” with the Titan’s construction.
“It was inevitable something was going to happen. It was just a [question of] when,” the whistleblower said.
Key points
- Rojas breaks down describing demeanor of passengers
- Newly-released footage of Titan sub wreckage surfaces
- OceanGate took ‘safety shortcuts,’ witness testifies
Final communications between the Titan crew and its support vessel, revealed
“All good here” were some of the final words that the doomed Titan submersible crew communicated before the submersible imploded on its mission to the Titanic wreckage site in June 2023.
The message, revealed as part of the Coast Guard’s Monday hearing into the circumstances of the failed mission, was sent to support vessel Polar Prince on June 18, 2023, shortly before the submersible imploded, killing all five of its crew members. It was an incident that captivated both sides of the Atlantic as crews made a mad dash to save the crew after the sub lost contact with the surface - with the world unaware that the lives had been lost.
The Coast Guard played an animated re-enactment of the Titan’s voyage that captured the submersible’s final, spotty exchange with the Polar Prince, during the Monday hearing that shed new light on the sub’s final mission.
Around 10am on June 18, Polar Prince asked the Titan crew whether they were able to see the support vessel on the submersible’s display. The support vessel asked the crew the same question seven times over the course of seven minutes. The Titan crew then sent “k,” meaning it was asking for a communications check.
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Final messages revealed from the Titan sub before tragic implosion
The anticipated two-week-long hearings kicked off with testimony from a former OceanGate engineer, who said he was fired after warning about the ship’s carbon fiber hull years before its catastrophic voyage
Michelle Del Rey20 September 2024 05:42 1726800137Lochridge forced to sign new contract after ‘embarrassing’ Rush in front of client, he testifies
He said that he and Stockton Rush “pretty much stopped talking to me rationally” after the Andrea Doria incident.
At the end of the summer 2016, Rush and others told him OceanGate was “no longer willing to pay” for his wife and daughter’s permanent residence. Lochridge believed it was because he “embarrassed him in front of clients,” referring to the Andrea Doria crash, which was a “turning point” in his and Rush’s relationship.
The following day, Rush presented him with a new contract that he sign a new contract that stipulated he would have to reimburse the company if he left within the next 12 months. Rush instructed him not to tell his immigration attorney about the new arrangement.
Michelle Del Rey20 September 2024 03:42 1726792920MBI created an animated model of the Titan’s doomed voyage
Michelle Del Rey20 September 2024 01:42 1726785737Catterson said he had ‘doubts’ — and voiced them
“I had my doubts,” Catterson said about the carbon fiber hull.
“I think that when you put it under compression, they can buckle, they can shift, they can move all these directions three-directionally,” he added.
When aksed if he had voiced his concerns about the hull to any OceanGate employees, Catterson said he told Stockton Rush, Tony Nissen, the first witness today who is an engineer, and David Lochridge, who was terminated shortly after detailing his concerns with the Titan’s design in an inspection report.
Michelle Del Rey19 September 2024 23:42 1726782137WATCH: Titan crew's final three-word text revealed in haunting animation of submersible's journey
Michelle Del Rey19 September 2024 22:42 1726778537In photos: Key moments from the hearings so far
Michelle Del Rey19 September 2024 21:42 1726774920Watch: Coast Guard releases footage that provided ‘conclusive evidence’ that Titan passengers died
Michelle Del Rey19 September 2024 20:42 1726771687Hearing has concluded for the day
The US Coast Guard’s hearing on the Titanic submersible tragedy has concluded for the day and will resume at 8.30am on Friday.
Michelle Del Rey19 September 2024 19:48 1726770448Former scientific director says OceanGate CEO thought Titan would be good for ‘indefinite’ dives
Steven Ross says that he once asked Stockton Rush how long the Titan would be good for until it needed refurbishments. Typically, subs need to be refurbished after a certain number of dives because of the pressures at deep levels.
But, Rush told Ross he thought his design would be good for “indefinite” trips to the Titanic wreckage.
Michelle Del Rey19 September 2024 19:27 1726768817Steven Ross is avoiding making direct answers
Testimony from the former scientific director is vague. He is avoiding giving direct answers to questions presented to him by the panel.
Michelle Del Rey19 September 2024 19:00 Newer1 / 6OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.