Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, disclosed that lightning had struck the tragic Titanic submersible during a test run. Tragically, Rush and four other passengers lost their lives when the sub imploded during a descent to view the Titanic wreck.?
He said:?"Fortunately, it was not a direct strike. A direct strike to the carbon fiber probably would have taken us totally out."
Insider's investigation of the metadata revealed that the original video was uploaded in August 2020. The incident involving the lightning strike is thought to have occurred during a deep-sea testing session in 2018, specifically near Marsh Harbour in the Bahamas.
"Upon arrival, the sub’s electronics sustained lightning damage that affected over 70% of its internal systems,"?OceanGate said later on OceanGate's Instagram post.?
"Combined with uncharacteristically stormy and windy conditions in the Bahamas, the team could not complete the first 4000-meter dive at least 45 days before the Titanic Survey Expedition."
Mr. Rush expressed his disappointment with the delay in a statement, but he added,?"We are not willing to shortcut the testing process due to a condensed timeline. We are 100% committed to safety and want to fully test the sub and validate all operational and emergency procedures before launching any expedition."
He said:?"Fortunately, we use commercial off-the-shelf and line-replaceable items. So in a matter of a few days, we could replace all those components."
He added:?"But we continue to have issues on connectors, penetrators, and wiring. Lightning can do weird things. That pushed our testing back, and we had to cancel that."
Approximately one hour and 45 minutes into the trip, contact with the sub was lost.
According to Mr. Rush, he and four others on board the doomed vessel, Titan, ignored a loud noise before their unfortunate deaths.?During an episode of BBC's The Travel Show in 2022, Mr. Rush shared that a passenger had heard a concerning sound while the sub was on the ocean surface.
Describing the sound as unsettling, he mentioned that almost every deep-sea sub experiences some noise at some point.
Mr. Rush emphasized the importance of providing tourists with complete information about the risks they faced during the show.
He stated, "This is an experimental sub; this is a dangerous environment."
Whistleblowers have reported glue leakage from the seams holding the ballast bags together, while experts have raised concerns about the design of the submersible's hull.
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