Titan Sub Disaster | Warning Signs | 4

Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American Scandal early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple podcasts. American Scandal uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements including dialogue might be invented, but everything is based on historical research. It's June 30, 2021 in the North Atlantic Ocean. Abored the horizon Arctic support ship, an oceangate engineer flicks a switch, and a winch motor roars to life. A steel cable dripping sea water begins to pull the titan submersible in its launch platform up a ramp and out of the cold gray Atlantic. Earlier today, oceangate CEO Stock and Rush led a pre-dive briefing ahead of titans first ever attempt to reach the wreck of the Titanic. After years of development he was confident that the company's flagship submersible was finally ready, but the dive has not gone to plan. Titan made it just 23 feet below the surface before encountering technical issues. Rush, who was piloting the sub, made the call to abort and now all the morning's optimism has drained away. The Titan platform seesaw is at the top of the ramp, just a few more feet and it'll be secure, but the horizon Arctic moves suddenly in the swell and the sub rocks forward, slamming hard against the ramp. An engineer flinches his sounds like gunshots echo across the deck and the domed titanium end cap of the front of Titan slowly topples forward. Where split second no one moves, and the engineer recovers his composure and hurries over to the stranded sub. There's a gaping circular hole at the vessel's nose and the five occupants inside are blinking at the sudden bright sunlight. "Oh gosh, are you guys all right?" Inside the sub, stocked in Rush is stoic. "Yeah, we're fine. All right, everybody out. Careful now." The engineer offers a hand helping the passengers onto the platform and one by one they're guided to the deck. Last to leave is Rush. He crouches by the fall and end cap. The engineer runs a finger over the smooth titanium surface and peers at the exposed seal. "Ah, it looks like the bolts sheared clean off." Rush frowns. They should have held just fine. As Rush and the engineer step onto the deck, one of the passengers is already snapping photos. Another has his phone halfway out of his coveralls pocket to do the same. Rush places a hand on the engineer's shoulder and steers him away from the rail. "All right, this is unacceptable." "Oh no, imagine if the bolts failed when the sub was in the water. Not the bolts that." Rush jerks his chin toward the passengers and their phones. "You need to stop them. If they post photos on social media, it'll be everywhere by this evening. And press will have a field day. But they're passenger. I don't think you can even eat their not passengers, their mission specialists. And that makes them part of the crew and a crew follows orders who tell them no pictures." "What do you want me to say?" "Tell them no pictures that we had an equipment anomaly that had been handled, nothing to worry about, no pictures." Rush steps closer and then lowers his voice. "Take their phones if you have to. Throw the damn things overboard. I don't care. Just make sure this doesn't get out." After reassuring the Titan's passengers that nothing serious has occurred, the engineer persuades them to put their phones back in their pockets. Any photos they've already taken are deleted. And as far as Stockton Rush's concern, the bolt failure was just a freak accident. A minor mishap that Oceangate will quickly overcome. But this isn't the only alarming incident that Rush is trying to sweep under the carpet. And if Titan failed to go 23 feet underwater today, how likely is it that it will survive the 12,500 foot trip to the wreck of the Titanic? Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of American History Tellers. In our latest series, a police raid on a New York City gay bar in 1969 ignites a series of demonstrations lasting six days and marks a turning point in the fight for LGBTQ rights. Listen to American History Tellers on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Business Wars from Audible Originals. In our new season, Sweet and Low Equal and Splenda are locked in a bitter fight, battling for billions while scientists and regulators threaten to shut them all down. Make sure to listen to Business Wars on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. From Audible Originals, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American Scandal. In 1912, the white star line built the largest and most technologically advanced passenger ship the world had ever known. Some famously called the Titanic "unsinkable," and with its Marconi radio system, electrically operated watertight doors and sheer size, it was arguably the safest ship on the planet at the time. But even that was not enough. In the unforgiving North Atlantic, the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage. More than a century later, another vessel with a similar name returned to those same waters, but the Titan submersible had been built with far less care. If not for bad luck, Titanic would likely have enjoyed a long career of incident-free crossings. Titan on the other hand was an accident waiting to happen. This is episode 4, Warning Signs. It's July 7th, 2021, at the harbor in St. John's, the capital of Newfoundland. Forty-year-old Alan Astrona bounds up the metal steps to board the horizon Arctic. He carries a small suitcase with a few changes of clothes and a backpack stuffed with electronic gear, GoPro cameras, battery packs, everything he needs to document the voyage ahead. Astrona makes his living as an actor in Mexico, where he's appeared in stage productions on on television, but lately his side hustle as a travel influencer on YouTube has taken off. And he's hoping that today's expedition will deliver his best content yet, because he's secured a seat inside the only submersible in the world taking tourists to the Titanic. Astrona drops his bag in his cabin and then immediately grabs a camera. Over the next few minutes, he films a quick walkthrough of the horizon Arctic. His expectations of the 300-foot vessel had been modest, so he's impressed to find a laundry room, a well-stocked galley, a lounge, even a small gym. When he's finished his tour, Astrona then goes looking for Oceangate CEO Stockton Rush. He wants to ask him about the previous expedition to Titanic, the one that had just returned to port, but Rush refuses to speak on camera about it. It's not until that evening's official briefing that Astrona discovers the Titan has not yet made it to the Titanic. On the first expedition of the summer, the crew face technical challenges, which force them to abandon all the dives. Still, Rush insists that only makes the second expedition more exciting, because now Astrona and the other mission specialists in the room may be the first to reach the Titanic in the Titan. At the end of the briefing, Astrona returns to his cabin, where he records an update for his followers. He tells them that Oceangate is confident that the earlier glitches have been resolved, so his dive is scheduled to go ahead. Astrona is buzzing. He's about to become part of Titanic history, but Astrona does not have the full picture. He's not been told that the first dive only made it 23 feet, or that when the submersible was winched back onto the horizon Arctic, the entire front end cap fell off. During the investigation following that incident, Oceangate's engineers quickly discovered the problem. The Titanium end cap was designed to be secured to the carbon fiber hull with 18 bolts, but Rush had told the support crews they should only use four to hold it in place. He thought that the pressure of the water outside would create a strong enough seal while they were on dives, and using fewer bolts would make it much faster to load and unload passengers. Unfortunately, Rush had not considered whether four bolts would be enough to support the weight of the 3500 pound end cap when the Titan was out of the water. As it turns out, it was not, and after the submersible was suddenly jolted while being winched back onto the support ship, the bolts snapped. So after the cause was identified, Rush revised the launch procedure. All 18 bolts would be secured before every dive, and with this new rule in place the second expedition of the summer departs as scheduled on July 7th, 2021. Still, after all the problems they experienced last time, Rush decides the first dive on expedition 2 should just be a test. Only three people will be on board. Rush himself, Copilot Scott Griffith, and Titanic Guide, pH Nargely. And this time, Titan does successfully descend to the ocean floor and reaches the Titanic debris field. But there, the Sub's sonar stops working, and Rush can't locate the main wreck. Their only option is to search visually, but it's pitch black, and the Sub's lights don't penetrate far in the murky water. Eventually, they give up trying to find the Titanic and then ascend, but even on the surface their troubles don't end. The Titan's docking platform malfunctions, leaving the submersible bobbing in the waves for 8 hours until the support crew can fix the problem. But despite these setbacks, Oceangate quickly issues a press release, celebrating Titan's first descent to the Titanic. The dive is described as historic and a superb demonstration that innovation and safety can go hand in hand. With that journey ends up being the only deep sea dive of Expedition 2, still dissatisfied with Titan's performance, rushed to sides head back to shallower waters for more tests. And there, Estrada and the other paying passengers finally get their turn inside Titan, but their experience is limited to a single dive to just 330 feet. So after seven days at sea, Horizon Arctic and Titan are back in port again. Ocean Gate staff disembark Expedition 2's disappointed passengers and pick up the next batch for Expedition 3. The process of loading and unloading passengers and supplies is getting smoother, but there's still little progress with the submersibles mechanical issues. On Expedition 3, Titan does make it back to the ocean floor and this time with paying passengers aboard, but a battery failure leaves the sub unable to maneuver to the Titanic. Worse, the loss of power means that rush can't release the external weights that allow Titan to return to the surface. So the passengers can do nothing but watch while rush tries to find a workaround. He reassures them that there's no reason to worry if all else fails the rope holding the weights will eventually dissolve on their own. Still, it takes them four hours to finally solve the problem by the time they reach sea level and the hatch is open. The passengers have spent almost an entire day trapped inside the sub without a single glimpse of the Titanic. Expedition 4 brings yet more issues. On the first dive, Titan loses communications and suffers a propulsion unit failure that makes steering nearly impossible. Rush tries to return to the surface but again encounters a problem with releasing the ballast weights. This time at least though, he's thought of a quicker solution. He asks the passengers to shift from one side of Titan to the other, rocking the sub from side to side. This process takes 30 dizzing minutes before the weights finally dislodge and the Titan ascends to the surface. But despite all these problems, Ocean Gate eventually delivers on its promise. On the third dive of Expedition 4, Titan reaches the Titanic. The passengers are the first people to see the wreck with their own eyes since researchers dive there in a different sub almost two years earlier. It's a haunting and breathtaking experience. And when Titan returns to the support ship, the mood on board is jubilant, a combination of celebration and relief. But there's little opportunity for Ocean Gate to build on the success. Fall is approaching and as the weather shifts, there's only enough time for one more week-long trip into the Atlantic. On this final Expedition, Titan manages to reach the wreck again on one dive, but all the others are aborted. So Ocean Gate's first season ends with just two successful trips to the Titanic and plenty of disappointed customers. As they head back to Port, Stockton Rush can only hope that they've worked out all the kings and that the following year, things will be smoother. And when the Expeditions resume in the summer of 2022, there are some familiar faces. Among those hoping that Ocean Gate's problems or a thing of the past is Mexican actor and YouTuber Alan Estrada. And when it's his turn to dive again, he climbs into Titan and sets up his camera to record the descent. Last time, the submersible bottomed out at just 330 feet, but this time they go far deeper. Estrada stares intently through the viewport window as Titan reaches 12,500 feet. After a two-hour descent, they are at the bottom of the ocean. Suddenly, a ghostly shape materializes out of the darkness. It's the Titanic. The hall is encrusted with rust, hanging like bronze icicles from the railings and port holes. They're so close that Estrada feels like he could almost reach out and touch them. And as the Titan maneuvers across the wreck, their guide pH-narsuley points out the landmarks, the bridge, and the wheelhouse, a lifeboat crane frozen in its lowered position. The iconic bow made famous in the 1997 movie. Estrada is elated. At last, his dream of seeing the world's most famous shipwreck has come true. But this successful dive will prove the exception rather than the norm in 2022. That summer's expeditions are plagued by just as much bad luck as the previous years. On one dive, Titan explores the debris field but never manages to find the Titanic. On another, the dive is aborted at 37 feet, because floats on the launch platform aren't secured and drift away. It seems that on almost every expedition, something goes wrong. There are thruster problems and battery issues, but the real danger is the damage no one can see. With each descent into the crushing pressure of the deep ocean, Titan's carbon fiber hull is growing weaker. And 13 days after Alan Estrada's trip to the Titanic, it's the turn of another veteran of Titan's first season. Just like Estrada, businessman Fred Hagen's hopes of seeing Titanic were cut short by technical difficulties last year, but this time everything goes smoothly. Ocean Gate's second pilot Scott Griffith successfully guides Titan to the bottom and explores the wreck. Then the sub begins its descent to the surface and the passengers are left to process what they've just seen. Each seems lost in their own thoughts. Hagen had expected to be awestruck by the Titanic itself, but he hadn't anticipated the strange sense of being suspended between two worlds. Beside him, pilots Scott Griffith, tweaks to thrusters using the Titan's adapted PlayStation controller before letting it settle in his lap. Well folks, ballast looks good. Oxygen levels are good. No alarms. Titan's behaving herself today will be on deck in no time. Well, certainly been a smooth ride Scott, thank you. My pleasure Fred, hoping it was worth the wait. I don't know where to begin. I mean, I've seen that ship so many times in books and films, but to see it with your own eyes and to realize that this is where it all happened. Yeah, and guess me every time. I'm just thinking a few years there won't be any of it left. Well, nature's doing a slow motion salvage job, I guess, eating her alive, one iron railing at a time. That makes us some of the last two will ever see her. They drift back into comfortable silence as the first hints of brighter water filter through the viewport. But then a sharp sound rips through the submersible, echoing around the curved interior. Hagen looks at Griffith, who peers at the screens. Hold on folks, hold on, no one panicked. Griffith scans his display. Yeah, yeah, everything looks norm. There's no pressure loss, there's no breach indication. We could all breathe easy. It might have just been an exterior flex. We're ascending, so the pressure differential can get a little weird, but we're okay, I promise. Sound like something snapped. It was possibly the carbon fiber in the hole. You've got to remember, there are millions of tiny strands in there. One or two of them breaking isn't a big deal. So that sound was normal. Normal is probably pushing it, but it happened right from the start with type. Stockton says that the first time he went down, he heard a bang so loud, he nearly jumped out of his skin. Hagen shakes his head and takes a deep breath. Griffith, pass him on the shoulder. Did you think you were a goner or something there friend? I don't think your time is up just yet. Just like the Titan, you got plenty more adventures to come. A few minutes later, Titan breaches the surface. The submersible rocks in the waves, while ocean gates diver, secure it to the floating launch platform. Then it's slowly pulled back up the ramp and onto horizon arcing. The sub is inspected and there are no obvious signs of damage from the loud bang the passengers heard. But hidden within the submersible's hull, there is now a flaw. One that will get worse with every dive, slowly spreading like a cancer. Titan has already been pushed beyond its limits, and it will not recover. Imagine your reading pride and prejudice, except you're not reading it. Harris Dickinson, and Marissa Obella are reading it to you, unaudible. Her barb sting you. His coldness sends a shiver up your spine. Your heart aches, your ears burn. You yearn for Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy to profess their undying love for one another. You can't bear it any longer. Well, maybe a chapter longer. Performance is so good, you'll give love a second chance. Audible. Stories that speak to you. You stepped out for your morning jog, except it's not your usual morning jog. You started listening to an epic sci-fi book unaudible. Thirty chapters later, you've accidentally run a half marathon. You lost track of how far you've run, somewhere just past the city limits. You can't stop. You have to find out what happens next. Then it's over. The universe seems bigger. You feel different. You feel like you have no idea where you are. Audible. When Fred Hagen, Scott Griffith, and the other Titan passengers returned to the horizon Arctic, they learned they weren't the only ones who heard the cracking noise. The sound was so loud that even the crew on the surface heard it. And by the time of the post-dive debrief the following morning, it's all many people on board the horizon Arctic can talk about. Still when stocked and rushed, bounced into the ship's conference room, he's upbeat. The most important thing for him is that the Titan has reached the Titanic again, and that ocean gates passengers feel they've gotten their money's worth. So he minimizes concerns about the crack heard during the Ascent. He acknowledges that it was a pretty loud bang, but he repeats a claim that he's made before. Noises in a submersible are normal. As far as Russia is concerned, a component probably expanded or moved, because of the temperature and pressure changes, and it's nothing to worry about. But one contractor working on Titan's navigation and communication systems isn't reassured. Antonella Wilby has spent years working with submersibles outside of Oceangate, and in her experience, even a remotely operated sub that made such a loud, unexplained noise would be removed from service until it had been properly checked. But Russian tends to send the Titan back under water with passengers in just a few days. But when Wilby voices her concerns with Amber Bay, Oceangate's director of administration, her argument is dismissed, and instead, Bay responds that some people at Oceangate have questions about Wilby. They wonder whether she has the right mindset to work in such a cutting edge, experimental environment, whether she's enough of an explorer, a risk-taker for Oceangate. Wilby is stunned by the criticism, but the conversation also helps make up her mind. She concludes that maybe she's not the right fit for Oceangate. And even before the expedition is over, Wilby and the company agree to go their separate ways. So with Wilby's intervention brushed aside, Titan returns to the bottom of the Ocean four days later. And just a few days after that, the sub descends and explores Titanic again. In all, Titan reaches the rec site three times in eight days. So at last, the submersible seems to be operating as stocked in Russian-tended, ferrying high-paying clients to and from Titanic on the adventure of a lifetime. But just as Titan seems to have turned a corner, the 2022 dive season comes to an end. Horizon Arctic returns to St. John's in Newfoundland, and Oceangate's equipment is unloaded from the support ship. Now that the dives are over for the year, head of engineering field Brooks wants to examine Titan more closely. Ever since that loud crack was heard, the acoustic monitoring system built into Titan's hull has been picking up more sounds than usual. It could be a sign that carbon fiber strands are breaking at a higher rate than before. Brooks wants to check it out. He suggests transferring the Titan to Oceangate's facility in Washington for a full health check. But Stockton Rush tells him that the cost of moving the submersible across the country is too high. So instead, Titan undergoes just a brief inspection on the dockside in Newfoundland. There are no obvious defects. So overfill Brooks' objections. The submersible is stored there in an outdoor parking lot for the winter. For months, it's exposed to temperatures that range from a balmy 84 degrees to deep below freezing, as well as harsh weather, including rain, sleet, and snow. It doesn't seem appropriate. So believing that safety is being sacrificed to save money, Brooks resigns from Oceangate, yet another senior employee walking away. But once again, Stockton Rush brushes it off. He's convinced that the carbon fiber hull is still sound, and that the 2023 season is going to be Oceangate's best yet. But despite a run of successful dives the previous summer, a combination of bad weather and mechanical issues dogs the early expeditions of 2023. For the first three trips, passengers don't even make it out to the Titanic rec site. Instead, they are restricted to shallow water dives closer to the Newfoundland coast. But in the middle of June, the sky's clear. And Oceangate's new support ship Polar Prince is able to head into the North Atlantic for Expedition 4, joining as mission specialists are Pakistani businessmen Shazada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleiman. And on June 18, 2023, they climb onto the Titans launch platform on the deck of the Polar Prince. 19-year-old Suleiman steadies himself as his ship rocks in the swell around him. Against the vast gray ocean, the Titan seems unnervingly small and fragile. His dad gives him a playful elbow. This is exciting, right? Uh-huh. I've got my camera already. Do you have everything you need? Right here. Suleiman reaches into his pocket and pulls out a Rubik's cube. I just hope I don't get too nervous. Well, you can do those things in your sleep. You know it. I've never done it with so much at stake. Well, you will have plenty of time to practice on the way down. It's going to take hours to get there. The Titanium End Cap is open. And an Oceangate crew member gestures them inside. Suleiman hesitates, so Shazada goes first, crawling into the narrow cylinder. Once he's inside, he backends for Suleiman to find. Hi, come on. You got to go see here. Suleiman climbs in and takes his place beside his father. Shazada leans closer. Just thing, the next time we're back on that ship, you'll have a Guinness World Record. Suleiman Dawwood, the deepest underwater Rubik's cube solve in history. A platform creaks beneath them and Suleiman tenses. Shazada pats his son's leg. It's just a sea Suleiman. I know, Titan's gone down dozens of times before. I know, it's perfectly safe. I know. Suleiman nods and flicks around the top layer of the Rubik's cube. Just then, they hear new voices outside. And Shazada looks up. Looks like our crew mates are here. But before the others join them, Shazada puts his arm around his son. I'm glad I'm doing this with you, Suleiman. Me too, Dad. Happy Father's Day, I guess. Over the next few minutes, three more men climb on board the Titan. Ocean gate CEO, Stock and Rush is going to pilot the sub. And the crew is rounded out with French Titanic expert pH nausea, and British businessman, Hamish Harding. And when everyone is ready, Titan's end cap is closed and bolted shut. Then, the submersible and its platform are lowered slowly down the ramp into the water with Suleiman Dawwood nervously fiddling with his Rubik's cube along the way. Two hours later, communications with Titan will go suddenly silent. And at first, Ocean gate staff aboard the Polar Prince assume it's a routine glitch, the same kind of technical issue they've dealt with on every expedition so far. But as the minutes slide into hours, they begin to worry. Titan has never been out of contact for this long before. And when the sub fails to resurface at the scheduled time, the captain of the Polar Prince summons help from the US Coast Guard. For more than three days afterward, a huge international search effort converges on the North Atlantic. Plains and ships sweep over an ever-expanding patch of ocean, hoping to spot the stranded sub drifting on the surface. Specialist sonar equipment scans beneath the waves, listening for any hint that the vessel might be trapped on the seafloor. Hopes briefly rise when acoustic sensors pick up banging noises underwater, but it's a false trail. Rather than a plea for help from Titan's trapped occupants, it's decided it's probably rusted metal work from the Titanic wreck itself. Then five days after Titan went missing, the US Coast Guard announces that debris has been found on the ocean floor Titan's distinctive tail fin, the sub's titanium dome encats in part of its carbon fiber hull. Later that day, the Coast Guard confirms the news, Titan suffered a catastrophic implosion. The hull collapsed under the immense pressure of the water, killing those on board instantly. With this announcement, the search mission in the North Atlantic loses its urgency. But the team from the maritime engineering firm Pallagic Research Services remains on the scene. Inside a shipping container on the deck of the horizon Arctic, monitors glow with live video feeds. Ignoring the rocking motion of the waves, Jesse Doran sits at the control panel. Every tiny movement of his fingers fires a thruster on the Odysseus 6K, remotely operated submersible, more than two miles down at the bottom of the ocean. Odysseus is inching closer to one of Titan's domed end caps, but the currents sweep unpredictably through the debris field. Sitting beside Doran, Pallagic CEO Ed Cassano watches the feed, pointing out hazards as they drift across the screen. Shreds of carbon fiber hull and torn cabling, hull rise electronics, fluttering through the water like snow. Annie's scrap of this could snag a thruster or foul an arm of the submersible. So Doran acknowledges Cassano's interjections with a nod, but never takes his eyes from the monitors. His posture tightening each time a loose shard drifts to near. For days, Pallagic staff have tirelessly mapped the Titans debris field. After each dive, they return with more fragments of the submersible in Odysseus' mechanical arms, but the end cap is one of the largest and most crucial pieces. It will be invaluable for investigators, but only if it can be recovered intact. Closing in on it had last Doran edges the ROV close enough. He closes the claw around the end cap and murmurs that he has it. Cassano exhales and reminds him to retreat slowly. On the monitors, the debris field recedes into darkness as Odysseus begins to send. Control room settles into quiet focus. In a few hours, the shattered dome will break the surface. Not long ago, it was part of a vessel that stocked in rush hoped to redefine deep ocean exploration, but now it's evidence that will be used to explain his death. The Roomba became a billion dollar product, not by being the smartest robot, but by being the dumbest. And then, the company that made it ended up nearly losing everything. Hey, I'm David Brown, the host of the podcast Business Wars. Every season, we bring you the true stories behind the companies that shape our world. Their rivalries, their reinventions, and their spectacular rises and falls. In our new season, we tell the story of Irobat and Roomba, the little vacuum that swept into 50 million homes and brought in billions in revenue. But the Roomba couldn't hold its leave forever. When Chinese competitors figured out how to give customers more for less, the company that created the category faced an existential threat for survival. Follow us on Twitter. business wars wherever you get your podcasts audible subscribers can binge all episodes of business wars early and at free right now join audible in the audible app or by subscribing on apple podcasts one company changed the artificial sweetener industry forever by deleting four words from a tagline sales skyrocketed rival sued and a multi-billion dollar war was on hey there I'm David Brown the host of the podcast business wars every season we bring you the true stories behind the companies that shape our world their rivalries their reinventions and their spectacular rises and falls in our new season we're diving into the bitter battle to own sweetness when scientists discovered that chemicals could deliver the taste of sugar with none of its calories sweet and low equal and splendor fought for space on table tops in diet sodas and on grocery store shelves across America but as health scares hit and regulators came knocking the fierce competition between the top three artificial sweeteners turn ugly make sure to follow business wars wherever you get your podcasts audible subscribers can binge all episodes of business wars early and at free right now join audible in the audible app or by subscribing on apple podcasts following the titans catastrophic implosion in June 2023 the U.S. Coast Guard launches an immediate investigation into what happened for over 12 months experts combed through every aspect of the submersibles design construction and operation they review internal ocean gate emails technical reports and dive logs dating back years engineers specializing in composite materials like carbon fiber examine the recovered fragments of the hole while experience submersible pilots are brought in to try and recreate titans final descent parallel inquiries by Canadian authorities and the national transportation safety board share information but the Coast Guard's investigation becomes a central clearinghouse for evidence and in September 2024 the Coast Guard convenes a two-week public hearing in Charleston South Carolina there aboard will hear evidence following the basic format of a trial witnesses will be called and questioned by investigators each speaker has the right to legal counsel when no charges have been brought against anyone instead right now the aim is simply to cut through the rumors that have circulated ever since the titan went missing and find out the truth the first witness to appear is ocean gates former director of engineering Tony Nissen easing into a stiff back chair he tries to ignore the buzz of the overhead fluorescence the room is colder than he's expected or maybe it's nerves in front of him on a raise platform sit three members of the U.S. Coast Guard Board of Investigation each has a thick binder of documents a silent reminder of why he's here Nissen clasps his hands to steal the tremor in them and then exhale slowly one of the board members of justice microphone mr. Nissen thanks for appearing today when you're ready we'd like to begin Nissen swallows yeah of course so for the record please state your name and your role at ocean gate my name's Tony Nissen I served as director of engineering at ocean gate until early 2023 and what were your roles and responsibilities in your job as director of engineering oh that's an interesting question I was recruited by ocean gate when Titan was nearly complete in the sense that all the items were in place they just needed someone to take it over the finish line and my mind's eye I was just going to put together the parts oh my apologies that that's my watch telling me I haven't had normally high heart rate Nissen smiles nervously investigators remain stone faced though let's get into your role a little further though as a director of engineering did you make all engineering decisions that affected Titan oh no did you make any engineering decisions yes but not that many so who would make the majority of the engineering decisions that was stocked and stocked in Russian and was that mr. Russia's management technique just with you were was that employed throughout ocean gate all stocked and would always fight for what he wanted and he wouldn't give an inch but you were the senior engineer at the company did you challenge decisions you believed were unsafe I tried many of us try can you give us an example oh I can give you dozens anytime we raise concerns about testing protocols about how fast we were pushing toward passenger dives about the carbon fiber hull about anything stocked and would just wave us off you'd say we were being overly cautious that innovation required risk were there consequences for pushing back professionally or otherwise not directly not in the sense of any actual punishment or anything but there was a a culture if you question too much you weren't seen as a team player you were told you didn't have the explorer mindset or you weren't visionary enough people internalize that good engineer started second guessing himself most people would just eventually back down and give stock in what he wanted it was it was almost like a death from a thousand cuts misson feels himself choking up he stopped speaking for a moment and exhales trying to settle himself board member leans into the microphone mr. nissen thank you but can we continue with additional questions regarding decision-making structures at ocean gate yes yes of course Tony nissen is far from the only witness to questions stocked in Russia's leadership and the stories begin to echo nissen's successor as director of engineering Phil Brooks recounts how titan was not properly checked after a loud cracking noise was heard on a dive contractor Antonella will be describes how she left ocean gate after becoming convinced that the company lacked the discipline needed to keep people safe former director of marine operations David Lockridge then takes a stand to accuse rush of arrogance by refusing to tolerate any criticism of the company's approach Bonnie Carl the company's director of finance describes how she followed Lockridge out the door when the scale of his concerns became clear submersible experts Carl Stanley and William Coleman each recount their attempts to intervene when they identified flaws in titan's design and how they eventually concluded that rush was determined to sidestep all scrutiny in his hurry to get his vessel in the water the pattern is obvious people repeatedly tried to warn stocked and rush about the dangers of what he was doing but he never listened instead he fell back on a familiar defense that oceangate was an innovator operating at a level his critics simply could not understand the US Coast Guard's file report reveals the truth released in august 2025 almost a year after the public hearings it condenses thousands of documents and transcripts into 335 pages in meticulous detail it explains how titans carbon fiber haul weakened over time until it could no longer cope with the pressures of the deep ocean eventually it imploded with such force that the noise was audible twelve thousand feet above on the deck of the puller prints even stocked and rushes wife Wendy heard it as she monitored the subs tracking though she thought he was just a door slamming on the ship but the report doesn't just say what happened it explains why and the Coast Guard's judgment is scathing it calls the tragedy preventable and blames oceangate critically flaw design practices inadequate safety protocols and toxic working culture the greatest criticisms are reserved for stocked and rush himself according to the Coast Guard he exhibited negligence he used intimidation and false claims to evade regulatory scrutiny and had he lived he would now be facing the prospect of jail time but stock and rush did not survive his final resting place is twelve thousand five hundred feet below the surface alongside the famous shipwreck that played such a central role in the last eight years of his life more than a century after the Titanic slip beneath the waves of the North Atlantic once magnificent liner lies broken into surrounded by debris the bow still holds its shape eerily dignified in the perpetual darkness while the grotesquely twisted stern reveals all the shocking violence of the liner's final destruction but the most famous shipwreck in the world is not a permanent memorial even in the stillness of the deep it is dying dissolving grain by grain long tendrils of iron eating bacteria hang from the hull consuming it in slow motion eventually little will remain of the liner except a smudge of rust on the ocean floor but beside it scattered among the few relics that have resisted corrosion and decay will be the wreckage of another far more modern tragedy a tangle of wiring a shard of carbon fiber the last remnants of the titan submersible and all that remains of stock and rushes dream during his life stock and rush could not understand why his critics were out to get him he genuinely believe that titan's design was not flawed but visionary a stroke of genius that would revolutionize human kind ability to access the deep he was convinced that history would recognize his achievements and that one day he would be hailed as a trailblazer for heroically pushing the boundaries of science and exploration in all of those beliefs he was wrong after the accident that claimed his life and those of his passengers stocked in rushes company ocean gate was shut down and its reputation left in tatters but his failure did nothing to diminish the allure of the Titanic or dampen the dreams of those who long to see her wreck before it disappears forever less than a year after the loss of the titan an American real estate billionaire announced a partnership with a maritime engineer together they intend to build a new submersible capable of transporting people to the wreck of the Titanic This new generation of would-be explorers insists that it has learned the lessons of the past and they've pledged that unlike the Titan, their submersible will only voyage to the bottom of the ocean after it's been thoroughly tested and certified as safe by independent experts. If only Oceangate had followed the same path. In 2021, Rush told an interviewer that he hoped to be remembered as an innovator. He quoted the famous World War II general Douglas MacArthur who said you're remembered for the rules you break. But what Stockton Rush never seemed to understand was that while some rules can be broken and some can be questioned, many exist because someone somewhere paid the price for ignoring them. From Audible Originals and Airship, this is episode four of our series on the Titan submersible disaster for American Scandal. In our next episode, we explore the role of trailblazers in American culture and how the glamour of apparent innovation can last dangerous behavior, corporate failure and even outright fraud. American Scandal is only possible because of listeners like you, so thank you, and don't miss an episode. Be sure to follow American Scandal on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. An Audible Subscribers can binge new seasons of American Scandal early and add free right now. And to find out more about me, including my other podcasts, my live show, the history tours I'm arranging and all sorts of other things, go to historyishuman.com. That's historyishuman.com. If you'd like to learn more about the Titan submersible disaster, we recommend the documentary's Titan, the Ocean Gate Disaster from Netflix and Implosion, the Titan sub-disaster from the BBC. This episode contains reenactments and dramatized details, and while in most cases we can't know exactly what was said, all our dramatizations are based on historical research. American Scandal is hosted, edited and executed produced by me, Lindsey Graham for Airship. This episode is written in research by Scott Reeves, senior producer Andy Beckerman, managing producer Emily Berg, fact checking by Alyssa Jung Perry, audio editing by Muhammad Shahzib, music by Thramm, sound design by Gabriel Gould. Executive producer for Airship is William Simpson. Executive producer for Audible is Jenny Lauer Beckman, head of creative development at Audible, Kate Naven, head of Audible originals North America, Marshal Louis. And chief content officer for Audible, Rachel Giazza. Copyright 2026 by Audible originals LLC, sound recording Copyright 2026 by Audible originals LLC. Hey, it's Mike Corey, the host of Against the Odds, from Audible originals. In each episode, we share thrilling true stories of survival, putting you in the shoes of the people who live to tell the tale. And sometimes, we get to hear from survivors themselves, in their own words. On our next episode, Sujo John will tell his story of September 11, 2001, that day he clocked into his job at the World Trade Center's North Tower. Sujo's wife Mary, pregnant with their first child, worked just next door in the South Tower. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the building, collapsing cubicles and walls. But as Sujo and his office mates, raced to escape the smoldering building, they heard another massive explosion. And Sujo realized his wife and unborn child were also in grave danger. Follow Against the Odds wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes of Against the Odds early and add free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app, or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.