Final message from doomed Titan sub revealed
It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, a chance to explore the Atlantic depths and visit the wreck of the Titanic.
But last year, a dive by OceanGate's Titan submersible went horribly wrong when the vessel imploded as it neared the sea floor, killing all five people onboard.
Now, the US Coast Guard has revealed the final words communicated by the crew, on the first day of what will be a two week hearing examining why the disaster occured.
A visual animation of the Titan journey before it imploded was revealed, and one image showed the final words from the crew to those on the support ship Polar Prince.
"All good here," they said.
The audio became more spotty as the vessel descended, with the Polar Prince asking if they could see the Titanic on their on-board display.
The Titan was reportedly still able to send one message an hour-and-a-half into it's journey saying they “dropped two wts” before they were pinged for a final time at a depth of 3,346m.
There was no communication between the Titan and the Polar Prince that indicated any trouble or emergency on board the sub.
It was only when there was no response to their repeated attempts of communication when they realised that the worst had happened.
US authorities said a “catastrophic implosion” occurred, killing all on board instantly.
On board the Titan were British explorer Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, OceanGate’s CEO Stockton Rush and French deep-sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
The US Coast Guard also revealed the first image of the Titan sub after it imploded, which showed the vessel's tail cone eerily resting on the ocean floor.
Four days after the Titan vanished, the vessel's wreckage was found about 500 metres from the bow of the Titanic, and a few months later, divers found human remains among debris.
It was also revealed that OceanGate was plagued with equipment problems years before the disaster, and they even fired an engineering director who would not approve a deep sea expedition, according to a testimony at the hearing.
Investigators said in 2018 the vessel was struck by lightning which left “significant blow to the structure” and caused it to fail a test by a wide margin.
Less than two weeks before the ill-fated voyage, the Titan was tested and found "partially sunk".
According to the testimony, Rush, the OceanGate CEO onboard the sub, had "no desire" to gain certification or meet regulatory standards for the vessel.
Two dozen witnesses will testify before the board over the next two weeks.
Images: OceanGate Expeditions