WATCH: Old video showing Titanic submersible spinning out of control on mission goes viral
By Sunita Iyer | First Published Jul 6, 2023, 9:51 PM ISTNewly surfaced footage from a BBC documentary reveals a distressing incident involving the Titanic submersible, its pilot Scott Griffith, and a malfunctioning thruster, highlighting the crew's reaction and the subsequent solution found by OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.
Newly surfaced footage from a BBC documentary on the OceanGate Titan submersible has revealed a distressing incident that occurred during a mission in 2022. The documentary covers the expedition to explore the Titanic wreck, where the pilot, Scott Griffith, encountered a critical situation. As the submersible approached the wreck, Griffith alerted the crew to an impending issue and informed them that the vessel was spinning uncontrollably, beyond his command. The crew's anguished reaction was captured in the footage, as they grappled with the news of the malfunctioning thrusters.
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Fortunately, the crew managed to find a solution to the problem. With the assistance of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who was aboard the ship above the surface, they were able to reprogram the controller and regain control of the Titan. This allowed the submersible to redirect its course towards the Titanic and successfully resume the mission.
"Scott is like 'Oh no, we have a problem'," one of the passengers is quoted as saying in the documentary.
"I was thinking we're not going to make it," another passenger, a woman, says in the short clip uploaded on BBC Select's YouTube channel.
The simplicity of the solution provided by Stockton Rush was surprising. "Tell him to hold it the other way," he said.
He suggested tilting the controller 90 degrees clockwise, which would enable the submersible to move forward again. This straightforward adjustment proved to be effective in resolving the issue.
The recently released footage gained significant attention, coming shortly after a New Yorker report that raised concerns about the reliability of the Titan submersible and criticized Stockton Rush's leadership style in 2018, referring to his "ego."
Tragically, on June 18, the OceanGate vessel went missing with five individuals on board: British explorer Hamish Harding, diving company CEO Stockton Rush, French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman. Four days later, the US Coast Guard confirmed that the Titan submersible had experienced a catastrophic implosion, resulting in the unfortunate death of all five individuals on board.
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