Doomed crew on Titan sub knew 'they were going to die,' lawsuit says

The five people aboard a submersible excursion to the Titanic likely experienced "terror and anguish" moments before the vessel imploded deep in the North Atlantic last year, killing all aboard, according to a $50 million lawsuit filed by the family of a victim.

The submersible Titan disappeared on June 18, 2023, while making a dive to explore the Titanic's wreckage. The incident prompted a multination search for the vessel that ended four days later when the Coast Guard announced the Titan debris had been found and bodies recovered.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet was director of underwater research for the Titanic and had made dozens of trips to the site, more than 2 miles beneath the ocean's surface. The wrongful death lawsuit claims Nargeolet would not have boarded the Titan had the submersible's builder, OceanGate, disclosed crucial information about technical problems with the vessel.

"While the exact cause of failure may never be determined, experts agree that the Titan's crew would have realized what was happening," the lawsuit contends. "Common sense dictates that the crew were well aware they were going to die, before dying."

Tony Buzbee, a lawyer for the family, said in a statement the family hopes the lawsuit will allow them to learn "exactly how this happened, who all were involved, and how those involved could allow this to happen."

Notable:

◾ OceanGate CEO and co-founder Stockton Rush, who was operating the Titan when it imploded, also died along with British billionaire Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman.

◾ OceanGate posted a note on its website that it had suspended all exploration and commercial operations. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the implosion, and a public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 16.

Catastrophic Titan sub disaster:A year later the search for answers continues.

Crew had 'full knowledge' that Titan was doomed

The lawsuit claims the Titan began dropping weights about 90 minutes into its dive in an apparent, ill-fated effort to return to the surface.

"The crew may well have heard the carbon fiber's crackling noise grow more intense as the weight of the water pressed on Titan's hull," the lawsuit says. "By experts' reckoning, they would have continued to descend, in full knowledge of the vessel's irreversible failures, experiencing terror and mental anguish prior to the Titan ultimately imploding."

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the French Marine Casualty Investigation Authority are working with the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board and are conducting "parallel" investigations.

What happened to the Titan submersible?

The Titan's trip, expected to take two hours, began at 8 a.m. about 435 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. An hour and 45 minutes later, the submersible's support ship lost contact with it. At 3 p.m., the Titan failed to surface. The frantic search and rescue operation that ensued transfixed the world.

On June 22, the U.S. Coast Guard announced the discovery of a debris field. The vessel likely suffered a "catastrophic implosion" and OceanGate announced all occupants of the Titan had been lost.

"The case brought by the Nargeolet family alleges a troubled history of the doomed submersible," Buzbee said.

Current Titanic expedition would have included Nargeolet

The Titan tragedy has not ended the interest in exploring the Titanic. In July, RMS Titanic Inc. launched Titanic Expedition 2024, a crew including videographers, photographers, scientists and historians, from Providence, Rhode Island. Nargeolet was scheduled to participate in the current Titanic expedition.

No crew members were visiting the wreckage, but two remotely operated vehicles were sent 12,500 feet deep into the Atlantic. The cameras would survey the sunken ship and take high-resolution images to “preserve the existing state of the site digitally," the company said. The exploration team said in a social media post this week that it was headed home.

"Battling some rough seas today," the team said in a social media post this week, adding: "The waves are relentless, but the #TITANICExpedition2024 crew is strong."

The Titanic also brought tragedy

The Titanic captured the nation's imagination in 1912, the largest and most well-appointed cruise ship of its time. But the ship hit an iceberg on April 15 of that year and quickly sank, killing more than 1,500. About 700 passengers were rescued. The wreck was discovered on Sept. 1, 1985, about 400 miles from the coast of Newfoundland.

Hundreds of books have been written about the ship. James Cameron's film "Titanic" was released in 1997 and is among the highest-grossing films of all time.

Contributing: Elizabeth Weise, George Petras and Janet Loehrke