The National Transportation Safety Board has released its report on the deadly implosion of the Titan submersible.
The agency said faulty engineering was to blame for the deaths of five people on board. The Titan’s hull failed, leading to the submersible’s implosion, causing those on the sub to die instantly, The Associated Press reported.
The incident happened in 2023 as the Titan was on a tourist excursion to view the wreckage of the Titanic. Those on board paid up to $250,000 a person to take the dive.
Five people were killed, including OceanGate’s CEO and co-founder, Stockton Rush, the BBC reported.
The NTSB said OceanGate’s vehicle had faulty engineering that “resulted in the construction of a carbon fiber composite pressure vessel that contained multiple anomalies and failed to meet necessary strength and durability requirements," the AP reported.
The sub was also damaged before the trip and should not have been used, the NTSB said, according to the BBC.
It also said the owner of the submersible did not do enough testing to determine its durability.
The agency blamed OceanGate for the delay in finding the wreckage after its catastrophic failure, saying that the company did not follow standard guidance for emergency response and if it had, it would have saved “time and resources even though a rescue was not possible.”