(CNN) –– A former OceanGate scientific director said the Titan submersible had malfunctioned six days before imploding in June 2023. All five people on board died in the accident.
Steven Ross, a marine scientist and crew member on Dive 87 on Titan’s fourth mission in 2023, testified Thursday at a hearing about the submersible’s tragic implosion and said a platform malfunction during that test dive caused that the five people who were on board crashed against the stern of the device for at least an hour.
The dive was aborted because, upon surfacing, a platform malfunction Caused by a problem with the variable ballast tank, which controlled the submersible’s buoyancy, caused the platform to invert at 45 degrees with the rear bow up.
The dive, led by Stockton Rush, founder and CEO of the ship’s operator, took place on June 12 about 740 kilometers from the site of the sunken Titanic.
“The pilot crashed into the rear bulkhead, the rest of the passengers fell to the ground, I ended up standing on the rear bulkhead, one passenger was hanging upside down, the other two were on the bow end cap,” he said. Ross, who added that no one was injured.
Rush had told the passengers there was a problem with the variable ballast tank valve, Ross said. Because the platform failure took a long time to correct, the dive was canceled and they returned to the surface to fix the problem.
“It was uncomfortable and unpleasant and took a considerable amount of time to correct the problem,” Ross said, explaining that he did not know if the crew performed a hull inspection after the dive.
He said he was aware that the Titan submersible had not been inspected by the US Coast Guard in 2021, 2022 or 2023.
Ross also mentioned two incidents during the 2022 Titanic expedition dives, including a loud bang heard upon surfacing on dive 80.
“There was a discussion about the noise with the crew, mission specialists and scientists. The theory was that the sound was probably due to a displacement of the pressure helmet in its metal bracket, which when it returned to its place could have made that loud noise,” Ross said.
On dive 81, Ross said there was a thruster malfunction. The pilot, Scott Griffith, discovered that the controls of one of the thrusters were reversed when they were on the bottom. Griffith had to operate the thrusters with the controls reversed.
Before Titan’s fourth mission for the 2023 Titanic expedition, Ross said he was told the submersible “snagged an obstruction while being towed at night” and was assumed to have been caused by abandoned fishing gear, “but that didn’t happen.” was conclusive” and was not informed of any damage caused by the obstruction.
