Footage of the ill-fated Titan submersible spinning out of control on a previous voyage has resurfaced weeks after the implosion that claimed the lives of five people.
The disappearance of the Titan vessel, built and operated by OceanGate, whilst on its way to explore the wreck of the Titanic last month became worldwide news. A multi-country rescue operation was launched in an effort to save the passengers onboard, only for worst fears to be realized when the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed they had found a debris field they believed to be made up of the remnants of the submersible.
Much and more has been written about the causation of the implosion, as well as the lives of the passengers onboard Titan when it met its horrific end.
Yet questions remain over what might have been done to prevent the catastrophe from ever happening in the first place.
An inquiry is now sure to be undertaken to get to the bottom of what caused the incident, but according to CNN, experts believe the design of the craft, the building materials involved, and CEO Stockton Rush and his company could all be to blame.
“This was a company that was already defying much of what we already know about submersible design,” Rachel Lance, a Duke University biomedical engineer who has studied physiological requirements of survival underwater, told CNN.
She also noted that some of the vessel’s design materials “were already large red flags to people who have worked in this field.”
Indeed, new footage has resurfaced reportedly showing the Titan vessel experiencing serious problems on a previous trip to the Titanic, which sank in 1912.
During said expedition, the crew were said to be around 300 meters from the wreck when the pilot told them they had encountered “a problem”.
As shown in a BBC documentary last year, pilot Scott Griffith explained to the passengers that there was something wrong with the vessel, asking “”Am I spinning?”
A passenger replies: “Yes.”
“I am?” Scott asks.
The same crew member then repeats: “Yes.”
In the same BBC documentary, one of the passengers onboard said: “You know, I was thinking we’re not gonna make it.”
On that occasion, the pilot was able to reprogram the controls and get the submersible moving forward again.
Our thoughts remain with all those who knew and loved the five individuals who lost their lives on the Titan last month.
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