‘Terror and anguish’ suffered by doomed Titan submersible crew in their horrific final moments is outlined in disturbing new lawsuit

A shocking lawsuit details the “fear and terror” likely endured by those aboard the ill-fated Titan submarine in their horrific final moments before the ship imploded in June 2023.

The $50 million lawsuit alleges that the “doomed” submarine had a “troubled history” and that OceanGate and late CEO Stockton Rush failed to disclose key facts about the vessel and its durability before 77-year-old French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet and three others took the plunge on June 18, 2023.

The company alleges that both it and Rush were negligent in the construction of the submarine, even though the company advertised the opportunity to “become one of the few to see the Titanic with your own eyes” for a $250,000 ticket.

These failures led to the Titan dropping its weights after just 90 minutes, indicating that the team aborted or attempted to abort the dive.

A $50 million lawsuit has been filed against OceanGate and its late CEO Stockton Rush

The lawsuit describes the

The lawsuit describes the “fear and terror” those aboard the ill-fated Titan submarine likely experienced in their horrific final moments before the vessel imploded in June 2023.

“The exact cause of the failure may never be determined, but experts agree that the Titan crew was fully aware of what was happening,” said the lawsuit filed Tuesday in King County, Washington, by Nargeolet’s family.

“Common sense dictates that the crew were fully aware they were going to die before they died,” the report continues.

‘The crew likely heard the cracking sound of the carbon fibers growing louder as the weight of the water pressed down on Titan’s hull. The crew lost communications and perhaps power.

‘According to experts, they would have continued to descend, fully aware of the ship’s irreversible shortcomings, experiencing terror and mental anguish before the Titan finally imploded.’

It was brought by the family of French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, who died in the June 2023 tragedy

It was brought by the family of French explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, who died in the June 2023 tragedy

Hamish Harding, a Cambridge-educated billionaire businessman, fighter pilot and parachutist

One of Pakistan's richest men, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, who was only 19

Also on board the ship were British billionaire and adventurer Hamish Harding and Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, who was only 19 years old.

The lawsuit also criticizes the Titan’s “slick, modern, wireless electronic system,” saying that “none of the controllers, controls or gauges would function without a constant power source and a wireless signal.”

Rush, who captained the ship on the ill-fated voyage, is also described in the lawsuit as “an eccentric and self-proclaimed ‘innovator’ in the deep-sea diving industry.” His estate is also named as one of the defendants.

After the disaster, both OceanGate and Rush were criticized for the ship’s flawed design.

In an interview with CBS News months earlier, Rush admitted, “We control the whole thing with this game controller.”

When asked by reporter David Pogue, “This sub looks like it has elements of MacGyvery, jerry-rigness. I mean, you’re laying down construction pipes as ballast.”

But Rush replied, “I don’t know if I would use that description. But there are certain things you want to keep secret.

“So the pressure vessel is not MacGyver at all, because we’re working with Boeing and NASA and the University of Washington. Anything can go wrong. Your thrusters can go bad, your lights can go bad, you’re still safe.”

However, Rush failed to mention that a professionally trained group had warned in 2018 that OceanGate’s experimental approach to the submarine’s design could lead to potentially “catastrophic” consequences.

He refused to obtain a third-party certificate stating that the Titan was safe at the time, and repeatedly ignored warnings that his ship was a death trap that would “kill someone,” in what he described as a “grave personal insult.”

After the disaster, both OceanGate and Rush were criticized for the cramped ship's poor design

After the disaster, both OceanGate and Rush were criticized for the cramped ship’s poor design

1723075495 216 Terror and anguish suffered by doomed Titan submersible crew in

However, the new lawsuit alleges that Nargeolet — who was hired to provide commentary on the Titanic and had already completed 37 dives to the wreck site — was never informed of “many of the details regarding the ship’s defects and deficiencies.”

It is alleged that these matters were ‘deliberately concealed’ from him and apparently from others involved, including Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman and British billionaire Hamish Harding.

Had these matters been known, Nargeolet would not have taken part in the voyage that began at around 8am on June 18 in the Atlantic Ocean above the site where the Titanic sank, his lawyers argue.

Titan lifted off into the Atlantic Ocean on June 18 and lost communication just 90 minutes later

Titan lifted off into the Atlantic Ocean on June 18 and lost communication just 90 minutes later

1723075499 117 Terror and anguish suffered by doomed Titan submersible crew in

At 9:45 a.m. the ship lost all contact with the mother ship, the Polar Prince.

Still, it took eight hours for OceanGate Expeditions to report the missing submarine to the U.S. Coast Guard after they lost contact.

That sparked a massive international response to rescue the five passengers, with ships from around the world making the trek to help search for the missing submarine as the hours and estimated oxygen counts ticked away.

It was also revealed that a US Navy surveillance system had picked up the sound of a ship imploding during the descent, but the search continued.

Finally, after a frantic four-day search, a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) sadly discovered the wreck of the Titanic, some 1,600 feet from the Titanic’s bow.

All five men on board died instantly when Titan suffered a “catastrophic implosion,” authorities said.

After a frantic four-day search, a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) tragically discovered the wreck of the Titanic, approximately 1,600 feet from the Titanic's bow

After a frantic four-day search, a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) tragically discovered the wreck of the Titanic, approximately 1,600 feet from the Titanic’s bow

The lawsuit now blames the implosion on the “continued negligence, recklessness and neglect” of OceanGate and Rush.

“The deceased Nargeolet may have died doing what he loved most, but his death – and the deaths of the other Titan crew members – were wrongful,” the report said.

Attorney Tony Buzbee, of the Buzbee Law Firm in Houston, Texas, which represents Nargeolet’s family, said He hopes the trial will “provide answers for the family about exactly how this happened, who was involved and how those involved could allow this to happen.”

He added that he finds it “telling that while the University of Washington and Boeing played key roles in the design of earlier, but smaller versions of the Titan, both have recently denied any involvement in the imploding submarine model.”

Several theories have been proposed as to what could have caused Titan to implode.

Several theories have been proposed as to what could have caused Titan to implode.

There are several theories about the cause of the implosion.

In a paper published in the Journal of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), study leader and professor of civil and environmental engineering Roberto Ballarini suggested that imperfections in the carbon fiber used to make the Titan submarine’s hull could have caused the devastating implosion.

He further suggested that any damage sustained from the ship’s previous dives could have left it vulnerable to “micro-buckling.”

“Kinking in the simplest explanation: you take a long piece of spaghetti and you push on it with two fingers. What’s going to happen? It’s actually going to kink, it’s going to snap,” Ballarini explained.

“That’s what buckling is. It’s when you compress something and it deforms significantly because it’s an instability.”

The researchers were unable to investigate whether micro-buckling was the cause of Titan’s failure, but they did look at ships with similar shapes and materials.

Other experts blame it on the carbon fiber composite material of the fuselage.

Small imperfections that can go unnoticed put ships like Titan at risk of collapsing under the enormous pressure.

Now that the ship has completely imploded, investigators will likely never be able to pinpoint the exact location of the leak that caused the tragic event.

The U.S. Coast Guard continues to investigate the tragedy.

“We are working closely with our domestic and international partners to gain a full understanding of the incident,” CEO Jason Neubauer said in a statement in June.

A major public hearing is scheduled for September.