The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Investigation Board (MBI) has released additional video of the wreckage of the Titan submersible, which sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean after the vessel imploded on its way to the Titanic's sinking site in June 2023, killing all five crew members.
Footage from a remotely operated vehicle shows the submersible's rear dome, rear ring, hull remains and carbon fiber debris lying on the ocean floor off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
MBI previously released footage of the ship's tail cone, lying on the ocean floor about 2.5 miles below the surface, with a piece of carbon fiber next to it.
Titan imploded on June 18, 2023, less than two hours after it began its descent toward the wreckage of the Titanic.
Eerie video shows Titan submersible's tail cone on the ocean floor
The Coast Guard Board of Marine Investigations (MBI) released remotely operated vehicle footage of the Titan submersible's stern dome, stern ring, hull remains and carbon fiber debris on the ocean floor in advance of technical testimony at the Titan MBI hearing in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday. (U.S. Coast Guard video courtesy of Pelagic Research Services)
On Thursday, the scientific director for the company that owned Titan testified that the submarine had malfunctioned just before the fatal dive.
Steve Ross appeared before a U.S. Coast Guard committee to speak about the platform issues the experimental submersible experienced days before it imploded on its final voyage in June 2023. Ross explained that the malfunction caused passengers aboard the submersible to “tumble around” and that it took an hour to pull them from the water.
Ross said OceanGate co-founder Stockton Rush was piloting the submersible when it crashed into a bulkhead during a malfunction. No one was injured, but Ross described the incident as unpleasant.
Ocean Gate CEO sank submersible in 2016, threw controls at crew, former employee says
The Coast Guard Board of Marine Investigations (MBI) has released remotely operated vehicle footage of the Titan submersible's aft dome, stern ring, hull remains, and carbon fiber debris on the ocean floor in advance of technical testimony at the upcoming Titan MBI hearing in North Charleston, South Carolina. (U.S. Coast Guard video courtesy of Pelagic Research Services)
“One of the passengers was hanging upside down,” Ross said, “while the other managed to wedge himself into the bow cap.”
Ross said he did not know whether any safety assessments of Titan or its craft had been conducted following the accident.
By the end of Thursday, the committee had heard three days of testimony raising questions about the company's activities before the ill-fated mission that killed Rash, Shazada Daoud and Suleiman Daoud, as well as French sailor Paul-Henry Narjollet.
Titan submersible crew say 'We're OK' in final message before vessel explodes: U.S. Coast Guard
An image taken in June 2023 of Titan's tail cone, submerged at the bottom of the ocean. (U.S. Coast Guard/Peer Survey Service)
Renata Rojas, a mission specialist with OceanGate, told the Coast Guard earlier in the day that the company has talented people who want to “make their dreams come true.”
Rojas' testimony was a different tone from previous witnesses who said the company had problems from the top down and put profits above science and safety.
“I learned a lot and worked with great people,” Rojas said, “some of whom were working hard to make their dreams come true.”
Coast Guard issues update nearly a year after deadly Titan submersible explosion
Titan submersible in the Bahamas, May 2018. (Becky Kagan Schott)
She also said she felt the company had been sufficiently transparent in the lead up to the Titanic's sinking.
“I knew what I was doing was very dangerous. I never felt in any danger because of the operation,” Rojas said in testimony Thursday.
“It's a terrible disaster,” said David Lockridge, Ocean Gate's former director of operations, who described the experimental submersible Titan as unsafe before its final, fatal voyage. Coast Guard He told investigators on Tuesday about a previous stint that ended disastrously after he clashed with CEO Stockton Rush.
Lockridge, who was responsible for the safety of the entire crew and the pilots-in-training, said he was the only licensed submersible pilot at Ocean Gate, but Rush insisted on piloting Cyclops 1 when it sailed to the site of the Andrea Doria wreck in 2016, Lockridge recalled.
Ohio Billionaire Plans 'Return to Titanic' Despite Failed Submersible Voyage
The wreckage of the RMS Titanic was discovered on this day in history, September 1, 1985. (Mathieu Polak/Sigma/Sigma via Getty Images)
He said Cyclops 1 had numerous system failures and that after embarrassing Rush by telling him he shouldn't be piloting the submarine, he was “phased out.”
Lockridge said Rush ignored warnings and took the three men to the Andrea Doria sinking site in a submersible, where they sank the vessel before Lockridge could try to seize the controls. Lockridge said Rush refused to hand over the controls until a passenger on board screamed, at which point Rush threw what was said to be a PlayStation controller at the passenger's head.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Washington state-based Ocean Gate has been closed since it filed for bankruptcy last year. The company currently has no full-time employees but is being represented by lawyers during the hearing, it said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The company said it has cooperated fully with the Coast Guard and NTSB investigations since they began.
The hearing is scheduled to run from Friday through next week, with more witnesses due to take the stand.
Fox News Digital's Pilar Arias and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
