A former passenger of the Titan submersible has revealed that an underwater voyage he was set to take part in had to be aborted after the vessel allegedly suffered a mechanical failure. Fred Hagen, who was identified as a "mission specialist,” told the US Coast Guard panel on Friday, September 20, that he was a part of a team that was supposed to visit the Titanic wreckage in 2021.
‘All it could do was spin around in circles’
Hagen said that the mission was aborted when the submersible began malfunctioning underwater. It was apparently clear that the team would not be able to make it to the wreck. “We realized that all it could do was spin around in circles, making right turns,” Hagen said. “At this juncture, we obviously weren’t going to be able to navigate to the Titanic.”
Hagen said that the sub eventually resurfaced, and the mission had to be scrapped. He also said that he was aware of the unsafe nature of the vessel. “Anyone that wanted to go was either delusional if they didn’t think that it was dangerous, or they were embracing the risk,” he said.
Last year, a catastrophic implosion of the sub resulted in the deaths for all four on board – OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver Paul Henry Nargeolet, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman.
Many others have testified in recent days, including former OceanGate employee David Lochridge. Earlier this week, he testified that during one of the dives in 2016, Rush threw the vessel’s controller at him during a voyage after a passenger started to cry because the CEO was driving recklessly. “He hit me on the side of my head,” Lochridge said.
{{/usCountry}}Many others have testified in recent days, including former OceanGate employee David Lochridge. Earlier this week, he testified that during one of the dives in 2016, Rush threw the vessel’s controller at him during a voyage after a passenger started to cry because the CEO was driving recklessly. “He hit me on the side of my head,” Lochridge said.
{{/usCountry}}Lochridge said OceanGate "wanted to be able to qualify a pilot in a day” and alleged that the sub was operated using a PlayStation controller. He also said that he told "every director within the organisation" about his safety concerns.