- OceanGate’s Titan submersible encountered a lightning strike during a test dive in the Bahamas in 2018.
- According to CEO Stockton Rush, a direct strike to the carbon fiber hull would have disabled the submersible completely.
- In 2018, OceanGate reported that the lightning damage had impacted over 70% of the submersible’s internal systems.
The Titan submersible, developed by OceanGate, experienced significant damage when it was struck by lightning during a test dive in the Bahamas in 2018.
In a deleted interview with Teledyne Marine, an undersea technology company, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush recounted the incident. Copies of the interview have surfaced on YouTube, suggesting it was published in August 2020 based on metadata discovered by Insider.
Rush mentioned that the lightning strike was not a direct hit, as a direct strike to the carbon fiber hull would have rendered the submersible inoperable.
OceanGate initiated deep-sea testing for the Titan submersible in the Bahamas in April 2018, as stated in a post on OceanGate’s Instagram account on May 16, 2018. The Instagram post also conveyed that the submersible sustained lightning damage, affecting over 70% of its internal systems.
Despite the setback, Rush remained undeterred, revealing that OceanGate was able to replace the faulty components of the Titan within a couple of days.
Rush emphasized that the submersible utilized off-the-shelf parts and even employed a Logitech video game controller as the piloting device.
Nevertheless, due to the lightning strike, OceanGate had to abort the test dive and subsequently canceled the planned survey expedition for 2018.
Rush’s previous statements regarding the safety of the Titan submersible have gained attention, especially after its disappearance during a dive to the Titanic shipwreck on June 18.
In an interview with Smithsonian Magazine in June 2019, Rush dismissed safety warnings and criticized the stringent industry regulations governing commercial submarines, believing them to be excessively safe and hindering innovation.
All five passengers on board the Titan, including Rush, were declared deceased after the US Coast Guard announced on June 22 that the submersible likely imploded.
Insider’s request for a comment from OceanGate outside regular business hours remains unanswered.
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