TITAN sub-explorers knew they would die after a last-ditch failed attempt to save themselves, according to a bombshell new lawsuit.
The $50 million lawsuit claims OceanGate and its late CEO failed to tell important facts about the ships’ durability and their “troubled” history.
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Paul-Henri Nargeolet was among five travelers who died on the submersible when it imploded underwater.
Nargeolet’s estate argued that OceanGate failed to disclose important facts about the submersible in court documents obtained by The US Sun.
But the suit also made the heartbreaking claim that the five on board had supposedly met their fate.
It says: “Although the exact cause of the failure may never be determined, experts agree that the Titan crew would have realized what was happening.
“Common sense dictates that the crew was well aware that they were going to die, before they did.
“The crew may well have heard the crackling noise of the carbon fiber grow more intense as the weight of the water pressed down on the Titan’s hull.
“The crew lost communications and perhaps also power.”
He continues: “By the experts’ calculations, they would have continued to descend, with full knowledge of the vessel’s irreversible flaws, experiencing terror and mental anguish before the Titan’s final implosion.”
The damaging lawsuit goes on to criticize what they call the Titan’s “modern, contemporary wireless electronic system,” which included a modified game controller.
It states that “none of the controllers, controls or meters would work without a constant source of power and a wireless signal.”
It also says Rush was “an eccentric and self-proclaimed “innovator” in the deep-sea diving industry” and names his estate as one of the defendants.
Although Nargeloet agreed to participate in the trip, lawyers for his estate allege that OceanGate “purposely withheld” information about the ship.
“The late Nargeolet may have died doing what he loved to do, but his death – and the deaths of the other members of the Titan crew – were unjust,” the lawsuit says.
“Rush hid dangers of which he was aware, specifically providing only certain information to his crew and the general public.”
He goes on to state that if the issues had been told, Nargeolet would not have participated in the trip, say his lawyers.
They now hope to get answers for the family.
OceanGate has suspended operations since the incident.
DOOMED EXPEDITION
Nargeloet embarked on an expedition with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and three other explorers – Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and their 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood – in the North Atlantic Ocean on June 18, 2023.
The submersible lost contact with its support vessel just two hours into its journey.
The story captured global attention as the world waited anxiously to find the five missing travelers.
Just two days later, the Coast Guard announced it had discovered debris consistent with the submersible.
The US Navy then confirmed that sensors detected a likely implosion that killed the five passengers instantly.
The shocking incident sparked national outrage and a conversation about the dangers of unofficial deep sea exploration.
The submersible’s safety was immediately called into question and an investigation into OceanGate’s safety standards was launched.
Marine experts expressed concern about Titan expeditions as early as 2018.
Will Kohnen, chairman of the Undersea Committee of the Society for Marine Technology, said at the time that the Titan’s disappearance did not surprise him.
Kohnen wrote a letter to Rush in 2018 citing “unanimous concern” about his company’s missions.
The vessels were not certified by an independent maritime agency and the submersible has completed only 13 of 90 dives since the expeditions began in 2021.
The Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board are still investigating the incident to determine the exact causes of the implosion.
The Coast Guard located the rest of the Titan submersible wreckage and the presumed human remains of the victims in October 2023.
The NTSB, Coast Guard, Marine Board of Investigation, Canadian Transportation Safety Review, and the French Maritime Accident Investigation Authority conducted a joint evidence review the following November.
The investigation is still ongoing and a Coast Guard spokesperson recently said NPR that they are in a “fact-finding phase.”
The public hearing is scheduled to take place by the end of the year.
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CONTINUED WARNINGS
Rob McCallum, who led seven dives on the Titanic, previously told The Sun that he warned Rush the submersible was unsafe.
McCallum founded EYOS, a similar luxury expedition company.
“I run an expedition company that has carried out over 1,500 expeditions – we are not arrogant, we manage risk as much as possible.
“So when OceanGate says things like exploration involve risk, yes it does, but that doesn’t give you carte blanche to ignore the obvious danger.”
McCallum added that he told OceanGate’s CEO that an independent agency should test the ship, but he refused to listen.
He warned Rush that the use of carbon material would not withstand the depths of the Titanic sinking site.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
