‘What was that bang?’: Wife of OceanGate CEO captures haunting audio of deadly Titan sub implosion

New footage obtained by the BBC and included in their upcoming documentary, Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster, reveals a disturbing moment from the doomed Titan submersible’s final dive. The video shows Wendy Rush, the wife of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, on the support ship, hearing the sound of the implosion and asking the unsettling question, “What was that bang?”

This audio, recorded without Mrs. Rush realizing its significance, is now a key piece of evidence in the ongoing investigation into the catastrophic implosion that killed all five people aboard the Titan in June 2023.

The Titan was carrying Stockton Rush, British explorer Hamish Harding, French deep-sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman when it imploded about 90 minutes into its dive to the Titanic wreck, which lies 3,800 meters below the Atlantic Ocean.

The final audio of Titan crew is distressing

The implosion happened so quickly that all five passengers died instantly. The unseen footage, shared with the US Coast Guard (USCG) Marine Board of Investigation, captures the moment the sound of the implosion reached the surface ship. Shortly after, a message from the sub arrived saying “dropped two wts,” which referred to releasing weights to adjust buoyancy. However, investigators found that the implosion had already happened by the time this message was received.

The BBC documentary also reveals new details about the Titan’s structural problems. The investigation showed that delamination, where the layers of carbon fiber in the hull began to separate, started as early as the sub’s 80th dive, a full year before the deadly accident. Lieutenant Commander Katie Williams of the USCG said, “Delamination at dive 80 was the beginning of the end. And everyone that stepped onboard the Titan after dive 80 was risking their life.”

This shocking discovery points to a major flaw in the sub’s design and construction. The carbon fiber hull, an unusual choice for a deep-sea submersible, was not strong enough to handle the extreme pressure at the Titanic’s depth. Experts, including deep-sea explorer Victor Vescovo, had warned about the Titan’s design and safety, with Vescovo even comparing diving in the sub to “playing Russian roulette.” These warnings, along with concerns from former OceanGate employees who called the sub an “abomination,” were clearly ignored.

The investigation also found other serious problems. The Titan’s only window was certified for depths of just 1,300 meters, much shallower than the Titanic’s 3,800-meter depth. Additionally, the inquiry heard testimony about worrying noises heard during past dives. Dr. Don Kramer, an engineer at the National Transportation Safety Board, spoke about a “bang” heard during a 2022 dive, which Stockton Rush claimed was just the vessel shifting, but Dr. Kramer believed was a sign of structural damage.

Karl Stanley, another passenger on an earlier dive, described alarming cracking sounds as they rose to the surface. These incidents and the known delamination show that the sub had serious and documented safety issues that were never properly fixed, and it used a game controller to pilot it.

The tragedy has had a heartbreaking effect on the victims’ families. Christine Dawood, the widow of Shahzada Dawood and mother of Suleman, shared her sorrow with the BBC, saying, “I don’t think that anybody who goes through loss and such a trauma can ever be the same.” The loss is deep and reaches beyond the immediate families, affecting the wider community of deep-sea explorers and enthusiasts.

The USCG’s final report, expected later this year, will provide a full summary of the investigation’s findings. Private lawsuits have already been filed, and criminal charges may follow. OceanGate, while expressing sympathy for the victims’ families, has shut down and promised to cooperate fully with the investigations.