The scientific director of OceanGate, the company that owned the Titan submersible, has revealed that the vessel malfunctioned days before its doomed mission to the wreckage of the Titanic.
The Titan, a submersible operated by OceanGate, imploded in June 2023, killing everyone on board.
The sub had lost communication with its support ship, the Polar Prince, approximately one hour and 45 minutes into its descent toward the Titanic wreck site.
The victims included OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British explorer Hamish Harding, French diving expert Paul Henri Nargeolet, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood.
An investigation has since been opened into the tragedy, which has brought new information to light.
Dr Steven Ross, who worked as scientific director for OceanGate, revealed on day four of the US Coast Guard's hearing that he and other passengers experienced a terrifying malfunction on the Titan just days before its final voyage.
He revealed that a malfunction caused the sub to crash into bulkheading, leaving one passenger "hanging upside down" and others clinging on inside the 6.7-meter vessel, which they were unable to get out of.
Rush had once again been controlling the sub - which was piloted using a gaming controller - when the malfunction happened as the Titan reached the surface.
Dr Ross explained: "After we reached the surface, the platform had a valve malfunction, and the bow of the platform submerged, tilting the platform and the sub to about a 45-degree angle.
"The pilot crashed into the rear bulkhead, the rest of the passengers tumbled about.
"I ended up standing on the rear bulkhead. One passenger was hanging upside down and the other two managed to wedge themselves into the bow end cap."
He said the experience was "uncomfortable and unpleasant," adding: "[It] took considerable time to correct the problem."
Dr Ross claimed there were multiple issues the surface team had to deal with before he and the other passengers on board were able to be removed.
He also revealed that the bow of the sub became detached from the platform and "thus was partly decoupled," adding: "They corrected the tilt of the platform so we can re-establish the sub on the platform and remove the passengers."
Rush was apparently "upset this had happened", and it had taken a support crew over an hour to remove the sub from the water after it surfaced.
Dr Ross, who has been a marine scientist for over 45 years, added that he was unsure whether the Titan's hull was inspected for damage after the incident, ahead of its fatal final voyage.
He is not the only person connected to OceanGate who has spoken out to highlight potentially dangerous issues in the inquiry.
David Lochridge, who was previously in charge of marine operations at OceanGate until being fired in 2018, told the pane l that Rush had insisted on piloting another vessel - the Cyclops - to the Andrea Doria wreck off Massachusetts in 2016 with three paying passengers on board despite his strenuous objection.
Lochridge had warned Rush about difficult weather and tide conditions but said the inventor "wouldn't listen" and claims he "basically drove it full speed" and crashed the sub into the port side of the bow of the shipwreck about 250 feet under the Atlantic Ocean.
He claims Rush then flew into a panic in front of the three other passengers and asked if there was enough life support on board and how quickly a dive team could come and rescue them.
Lochridge says he tried to calm Rush down and begged from him to hand over the video game controller that operated the sub, but says Rush refused to do so until one of the paying customers shouted at him to hand it over.
Rush then allegedly threw the controller at Lochridge, hitting him in the side of his head, but allowing Lochridge to safely raise the sub to the surface within "10 to 15 minutes".
He also added that Rush was allegedly warned about the safety of the Titan's mission ahead of its final journey, adding that he had "no confidence whatsoever" with the Titan’s construction.
Lochridge told the panel: "It was inevitable something was going to happen. It was just a [question of] when."
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