NTSB: OceanGate engineering data-analysis flaws caused Titan implosion

The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that faulty engineering and flawed data analysis by OceanGate directly caused the June 18, 2023, implosion of the submersible Titan, which killed all five people aboard during a descent to the Titanic wreck about 372 miles southeast of St. Johns, Newfoundland. The NTSB said the vessel catastrophically imploded at approximately 10:47 a.m. local time while descending to the wreck at a depth of 3,880 meters, exposing occupants to roughly 4,930 pounds per square inch of water pressure and leaving the 22-foot pressure hull a total loss.

The board found that OceanGate’s engineering process produced a carbon fiber composite pressure vessel that contained multiple anomalies and did not meet required strength and durability standards. Investigators said the pressure cylinder, built in 2020 and fitted with titanium rings and domes bonded and bolted to the composite, likely sustained delamination damage after dive 80 that weakened the structure. Additional damage of unknown origin after dive 82 further degraded the vessel, and a local buckling failure of the compromised hull led to the implosion on the casualty dive, the report states.