How did the “Titan” navigation system work?

Antonella Wilby explained how a submarine’s ultra-short baseline (USBL) acoustic positioning system, which uses sonar signals to measure speed, position and depth, actually works. Instead of automatically transmitting positioning data to mapping software, Wilby says: The submarine’s coordinates were written down by hand in a notebook and then manually entered into an Excel spreadsheet.Only then did the information enter into mapping software, The Verge writes. It was a difficult and lengthy process.

We tried to do it every five minutes but it was too much work.
– says Antonella Wilby.

According to reports, Wilby did not hide his displeasure in front of the management and even directly called this navigation method “stupid”. However, he was later released. He was working on his own navigation system, but did not have enough time.

This is not the only case where security is neglected:

• We later learned after the disaster that the “Titan” was using a Logitech wireless gamepad for control, and that it was a very old model.
• Additionally, expired aerospace carbon fiber was used to cover the fuselage.
• Last week, another former OceanGate employee, Dr. Stephen Ross, testified at a hearing that the submarine had hit the launch ramp and flipped over with him just days before the disaster that killed the company’s founder and chief executive, Stockton Rush, and four other passengers. Ross said he was unaware of any investigation into the incident. He did not know whether checks had been made to see if the hull had been damaged in the collision.
• According to other testimony from David Lochridge, former director of ocean operations at OceanGate, who accompanied Rush on the 2016 trip, the CEO accidentally bent the submarine’s outriggers after improperly separating from its carrier. He even went to the bottom of the ocean as a result of the outriggers getting stuck under a metal panel and the crew having to call for help. After this mission, the relationship between Rush and Lochridge deteriorated sharply, and the company’s president quickly fired his assistant.

Antonella Wilby also recalled hearing an explosion loud enough to be heard above the ocean surface when she surfaced after her dive on Titan in 2022.

Stephen Ross heard similar noises, but Stockton Rush continued to assure everyone that there was no need to fear, and when asked how many cycles the submarine could withstand before needing rebuilding, he replied: “Indefinitely.”

Part of Titan submarine found at the bottom of the ocean: video

Hearings continue

The process is still ongoing, revealing more and more details about the disaster and what came before it. The work, which began on Monday, September 16, includes the Coast Guard, OceanGate employees and former contractors searching for the wreckage.

The more we learn about the events leading up to the disaster, the more Stockton Rush’s complete disregard for safety becomes apparent. While the final verdict will be up to the courts, for now it appears that everything played a major role in the tragedy that claimed the lives of five people.