Titan sub imploded due to engineering flaws — NTSB report

Faulty engineering caused the implosion of a private submersible during a 2023 expedition to the Titanic wreckage, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Wednesday.

The NTSB's final report comes after a US Coast Guard investigation in August outlined a litany of issues with operator OceanGate's conduct, as well as design flaws in its Titan submersible, that led to a "preventable tragedy" in which all five passengers were killed.

What did the report say?

The report concluded that the faulty engineering of the Titan submersible "resulted in the construction of a carbon fiber composite pressure vessel that contained multiple anomalies and failed to meet necessary strength and durability requirements."

It added that because OceanGate did not adequately test the Titan, "the company was unaware of the pressure vessel's actual strength and durability, which was likely much lower than their target."

"Additionally, OceanGate's analysis of Titan pressure vessel real-time monitoring data was flawed, so the company was unaware that the Titan was damaged and needed to be immediately removed from service" after a previous dive, it added.

The report also said the debris of the Titan would have likely been found sooner had OceanGate followed standard guidance for emergency response, and that would have saved "time and resources even though a rescue was not possible in this case."

What happened to the Titan submersible?

In 2023, the Titan submersible, operated by OceanGate, set out on an expedition to the wreckage of Titanic. Seats on the submersible were priced at $250,000 (€215,000) per person.

About an hour and 45 minutes after the submersible set out, communications with the vessel were lost.

The submersible had imploded, killing all five people onboard, including the OceanGate's chief executive Stockton Rush.

The Titan's debris was found a few days later and the remains of those onboard were recovered when the sub was brought to the surface.

OceanGate halted all operations after the incident and last year, it was sued by the family of one of the passengers who died in the implosion.