US announces cause of Titan submersible tragedy in 2023

According to the NTSB, OceanGate's engineering process for the Titan was “unsatisfactory,” resulting in the construction of a carbon fiber pressure chamber that was “multiplely defective” and “failed to meet standards.”

On October 15, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said that flawed design and inadequate testing procedures were the cause of the catastrophic explosion of the private submarine Titan owned by OceanGate during an expedition to the Titanic wreck in 2023.

The NTSB report was released after the US Coast Guard in August cited a series of operational problems at OceanGate's operator as well as design flaws in the Titan submarine, leading to a "preventable tragedy" that killed all five people on board.

According to the NTSB, OceanGate's engineering process for the Titan was “unsatisfactory,” resulting in the construction of a carbon fiber pressure chamber that was “flawed” and “failed to meet strength and pressure standards.”

“Because of inadequate testing, OceanGate did not understand the actual strength of the pressure chamber, which was significantly lower than the target,” the agency added. “The company’s analysis of real-time monitoring data was also flawed, causing it to fail to recognize that Titan had sustained damage and needed to be withdrawn from service immediately after its previous dive.”

On board the fateful voyage were OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British explorer Hamish Harding, French deep-sea diving expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani-born businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman Dawood.

Each passenger seat on the submarine costs $250,000.

About 1 hour and 45 minutes after the Titan began its dive on June 18, 2023, communication with the ship was lost - starting a large-scale search campaign that attracted global attention.

A few days later, searchers discovered pieces of the ship on the seabed, about 500 meters from the bow of the Titanic.

During the salvage, authorities also recovered the victim's body. Following the tragedy, OceanGate ceased all operations.

The family of diving expert Nargeolet then sued OceanGate, demanding $50 million in damages, accusing the company of “serious negligence.”

The Titanic wreck, located about 644km off the coast of Newfoundland (Canada), was discovered in 1985 and has since become an attraction for researchers and scuba divers.

The Titanic sank in 1912 on its maiden voyage from England to New York (USA) after hitting an iceberg, killing more than 1,500 of the 2,224 people on board./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/my-cong-bo-nguyen-nhan-dan-den-tham-kich-tau-lan-titan-nam-2023-post1070686.vnp