(The Hill) — An “all good here” text was one of a handful sent by the crew of the Titan submersible shortly before it imploded in June 2023 while on its way to visit the wreck of the Titanic.
The texts were shown during a hearing held by the Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation on the Titan, which also showed animated images of the Titan sub.
According to investigators, the Titan began its dive around 9:17 a.m. on June 18, 2023. While the crew reported having communication troubles, they sent an “all good here” text to their support vessel, Polar Prince, about an hour into their expedition.
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Roughly a half hour later, at 10:47 a.m., the Titan told those on the Polar Prince it had “dropped two wts,” a note indicating the sub had shed weights in what could have been an indication the crew knew something was wrong, CNN reports.
That would be the last message sent by the Titan crew. Six seconds later, the submersible was pinged for the final time.
The Polar Prince continued trying to contact the Titan but received no response. At its last ping, the Titan was about 3,346 meters deep, less than 500 meters from the Titanic wreckage. It’s unlikely those on board ever saw the Titanic.
Wreckage of the Titan was found about 330 meters from the bow of the Titanic, according to the Coast Guard.
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The implosion killed all five people aboard the Titan: pilot and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush; Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, members of a notable Pakistani family; British explorer Hamish Harding; and Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet. It took more than a week for “presumed human remains” to be found by the Coast Guard.
OceanGate, the company behind the Titan submersible, later suspended its expeditions and was hit with a lawsuit in August from the estate of Nargeolet.
The public hearings being held by the U.S. Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation this week in North Charleston, South Carolina, aim to piece together the Titan’s implosion and what lead up to it.
Following the two-week hearing, a detailed report is expected to be released. Findings could be presented to the Department of Justice if “there’s any detection of a criminal act,” the Coast Guard Chief of Office of Investigations Jason Neubauer said.
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