The Titan submarine had experienced problems a few days before it exploded en route to the Titanic wreck, it has been revealed.

The problem was revealed by Steven Ross speaking Thursday to a US Coast Guard panel investigating the tragedy. In particular, OceanGate’s former scientific director said a platform problem earlier in June 2023 caused passengers to “fall” and the vessel collide with the bulkheads, leaving one passenger “hanging upside down” and others holding on. they could

Steven Ross added that he did not know if the submarine was inspected for damage after the incident.

The testimony, as reported by the BBC, was heard as part of a public hearing by the US Coast Guard into the fatal dive of the experimental submarine in June 2023.

Ross said it took a support crew more than an hour to get the sub out of the water after the malfunction, just days before its final voyage.

A member of the mission aboard the submarine’s support vessel described watching the crew and passengers depart for the Titanic wreck last June, saying: “I saw five people smiling on the way to their journey.”

“They were just happy to go, that’s the memory I have,” testified Renata Rojas, who had joined the mission as a volunteer.

Rojas, who was aboard a surface support vessel, said everything was “running very smoothly” before the submarine began its descent.

She then described the anguish that followed when communication with the vessel was lost.

“We went into ‘go mode,'” he said.

He revealed that there were several rescue options if the submarine was stuck on the ocean floor, including initiating a release maneuver or waiting for the tide to change.

The Titan had 96 hours of life support on board, he added.

However, he stressed, there was nothing anyone on the submarine could have done if the vessel had been damaged.

“The canopy fell from the submarine”

Rojas described a dangerous 2021 mission in which she recalled how the canopy fell off the submarine as it was pulled from the water.

He said that when the submarine was towed back to the main ship.

“There were only, I think, two bolts or four bolts in the dome. It started dripping, falling,” he said.

The Titan disaster led to questions about the submarine’s safety and design, as well as the materials used in its construction.

The incident led crews to install 18 bolts in the canopy for subsequent missions.

Rojas said she never felt unsafe during her own dives.

“I found them to be very transparent about everything,” he said of OceanGate’s staff briefings.

“I knew the danger and decided to go.”

The investigation will continue next week