Audio of Titan submersible explosion released
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released chilling audio from a recorder that captured sounds from the Titan submersible implosion in 2023. The recorder was located some 900 miles away from the accident site.
Newly released audio captures the moment the Titan submersible imploded on its way to the Titanic shipwreck site, killing everyone on board.
The audio was captured on a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) moored passive acoustic recorder, about 900 miles from the Titan submersible implosion site.
What happened in the Titan submersible implosion?
The backstory:
The Titan, an OceanGate submersible carrying five people to the site of the Titanic shipwreck, imploded in the ocean and killed everyone on board.
This file image provided by OceanGate shows the Titan submersible descending into the ocean before it imploded. (OceanGate Expeditions / Fox News)
The tragedy raised questions about whether the Titan was destined for disaster because of its unconventional design and its creator’s refusal to submit to independent checks that are standard in the industry.
RELATED: Titan submersible implosion: Titanic expeditions continue unabated 1 year after tragedy
It also led to a two-week U.S. Coast Guard hearing to determine why the submersible imploded. Victims’ family members were in attendance as investigators revealed more than 100 problems with the submersible since 2019, including a cracked hull, a thruster that failed during a deep dive and a dome that fell off.
OceanGate: Footage of Titan sub wreckage revealed
The first footage showing the wreckage of OceanGate Expeditions’ Titan submersible has been released since the vessel’s implosion last year. The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation (MBI) unveiled the video during a public hearing in North Charleston, South Carolina. The footage, captured by a remotely operated vehicle, shows the results of the catastrophic implosion of the 22-foot submersible on June 18, 2023, resulting in the tragic loss of all five people aboard. LiveNOW’s Andrew Craft spoke about the hearing with maritime expert Sal Mercogliano.
Witnesses testified that the company put profits over safety. They accused its CEO Stockton Rush of repeatedly dismissing safety concerns and silencing critics. Rush was one of the five people killed in the implosion.
Timeline:
The Titan had been chronicling the Titanic’s decay and the underwater ecosystem around the sunken ocean liner in yearly voyages since 2021. OceanGate, the company that built and operated the Titan, sold expeditions to the Titanic for $250,000.
The craft made its last dive on June 18, 2023, and lost contact with its support vessel about two hours later. When it was reported overdue that afternoon, rescuers rushed ships, planes, and other equipment to the area, about 435 miles south of St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Full timeline: Titan submersible’s final dive
This animation, created for the Marine Board of Investigation Titan submersible hearing, shows the Titan’s position and messages to the surface during its fateful dive. The dive portion starts about 2 minutes into the video. (U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary animation by Gary T. Markle)
The U.S. Navy notified the Coast Guard that day of an anomaly in its acoustic data that was “consistent with an implosion or explosion” at the time communications between the Polar Prince and the Titan were lost.
The Coast Guard announced on June 22 that debris had been found near the Titanic on the ocean floor. Authorities have since recovered the submersible’s intact endcap, debris and presumed human remains from the site.
RELATED: Ohio billionaire planning ‘Return to the Titanic’ despite doomed Titan submersible voyage
The deadly implosion hasn’t stopped deep-sea exploration. The Georgia-based company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic planned to visited the sunken ocean liner in July 2024 using remotely operated vehicles, and a real estate billionaire from Ohio has said he plans a voyage to the shipwreck in a two-person submersible in 2026.
Who were the victims?
The people who died on the Titan were Stockton Rush, who also co-founded OceanGate, two members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman Dawood; British adventurer Hamish Harding; and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
RELATED: Titan submersible crew experienced ‘terror and mental anguish’ before death, lawsuit claims
Youngest Titanic explorer ‘fell unconscious’ due to low oxygen levels
Titanic expedition leader G. Michael Harris and his son, Sebastian – the youngest person ever to visit the Titanic site – joined ‘The Story’ to explain the ‘serious environment’ of their journey.
Harding and Nargeolet were members of The Explorers Club, a professional society dedicated to research, exploration, and resource conservation.
