American Scandal - Titan Sub Disaster | Warning Signs | 4

Episode Date: April 14, 2026

Two years later than scheduled, Titan finally takes its first paying passengers to the wreck of the Titanic. But amid the crushing pressure of delivering on his business plan, Stockton Rush ignores red flags about his submersible’s safety, and his dream of deep-sea exploration ends in tragedy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

American scandal uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, might be invented, but everything is based on historical research. It's June 30th, 2021 in the North Atlantic Ocean. Aboard the Horizon Arctic support ship, an Ocean Gate engineer flicks a switch and a winch motor roars to life. A steel cable dripping seawater begins to pull the Titan submersible in its launch platform up a ramp and out of the cold, gray Atlantic. Earlier today, Ocean Gate CEO Stock and Rush led a pre-dive briefing ahead of Titan's first ever attempt

to reach the wreck of the Titanic. After years of development, he was confident that the company's flagship submersible was finally ready, but the dive has not gone to plan. Titan made it just 23 feet below the surface before encountering technical issues. Rush, who was piloting the sub, made the call to abort,

and now all the morning's optimism them has drained the way. The Titan platform seesaws at the top of the ramp, just a few more feet and it'll be secure. But the Horizon Arctic moves suddenly in the swell and the sub rocks forward, slamming hard against the ramp. An engineer flinches as sounds like gunshots echo across the deck, and the dome titanium endcap of the front of Titan slowly topples forward. Where split second, no one moves. And the engineer recovers his composure and hurries over to the stranded sub. There's a gaping circular hole at the vessel's nose, and the five occupants inside are blinking at the sudden bright sunlight.

Oh, gosh, are you guys all right? Inside the subs, Stockton Rush, is stoic. Yeah, we're fine. All right, everybody out. Carefully now. The engineer offers a hand, helping the passengers onto the platform, and one by one, they're guided to the deck. Last to leave is Rush. He crouches by the fallen N-CAP.

The engineer runs a finger over the smooth titanium surface and peers at the exposed seal. It looks like the bolts sheared clean off. Rush frowns. They should have held just fine. As Rush and the engineer step onto the deck, one of the passengers is already snapping photos. Another has his phone halfway out of his coverall's pocket to do the same.

Rush places a hand on the engineer's shoulder and steers him away from the rail. All right, this is unacceptable. No, imagine if the bolts failed when the sub was in the water. Not the bolts that. Rush jerks his chin toward the passengers and their phones. You need to stop them. If they post photos on social media, it'll be everywhere by this evening. The press will have a field day.

But they're passengers. I don't think we can need. They're not passengers. They're mission specialists. And that makes them part of the crew. And a crew follows orders who tell them no pictures. What do you want me to say? Tell them no pictures that we had an equipment anomaly that is being handled.

Nothing to worry about. No pictures. Rush steps closer and then lowers his voice. Take their phones if you have to. Throw the damn things overboard. I don't care. Just make sure this doesn't get out. After reassuring the Titans passengers that nothing serious has occurred,

the engineer persuades them to put their phones back in their pockets. Any photos they've already taken are deleted. And as far as Stockton Rush is concerned, the bolt failure was just a freak accident. A minor mishap that Ocean Gate will quickly overcome. But this isn't the only alarming incident that Rush has tried to sweep under the carpet. And if Titan failed to go 23 feet underwater today, how likely is it that it will survive the 12,500-foot trip to the wreck of the Titanic?

From Audible Originals, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is American Scandal. In 1912, the White Star Line built the largest and most technologically advanced passenger ship the world had ever known. Some famously called the Titanic unsinkable, and with its Marconi radio system, electrically operated watertight doors and sheer size, it was arguably the safest ship on the planet at the time. But even that was not enough. In the unforgiving North Atlantic, the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage.

More than a century later, another vessel with a similar name returned to those same waters, but the Titan submersible had been built with far less care. If not for bad luck, Titanic would likely have enjoyed a long career of incident-free crossings. things. Titan, on the other hand, was an accident waiting to happen. This is episode four, warning signs. It's July 7, 2021, at the harbor in St. John's, the capital of Newfoundland. 40-year-old Alan Estrada bounds up the metal steps to board the Horizon Arctic. He carries a

small suitcase with a few changes of clothes and a backpack stuffed with electronic gear, GoPro cameras, battery packs, everything he needs to document the voyage ahead. Estrada makes his living as an actor in Mexico, where he's appeared in stage productions and on television. But lately, his side hustle as a travel influencer on YouTube has taken off. And he's hoping that today's expedition will deliver his best content yet, because he's secured a seat inside the only submersible in the world taking tourists to the Titanic. Estrada drops his bag in his cabin, and then immediately grabs a camera. Over the next few minutes, he films a quick walkthrough of the Horizon Arctic.

His expectations of the 300-foot vessel had been modest, so he's impressed to find a laundry room, a well-stocked galley, a lounge, even a small gym. When he's finished his tour, Estrada then goes looking for Ocean Gate CEO Stockton Rush. He wants to ask him about the previous expedition to Titanic, the one that had just returned to port, but Rush refuses to speak on camera about it. It's not until that evening's official briefing that Estrada discovers the Titan has not yet made it to the Titanic. On the first expedition of the summer, the crew faced technical challenges which force them to abandon all the dives. Still Rush insists that only makes the second expedition more exciting because now Estrada and the other mission specialists in the room may be the first to reach the Titanic in the Titan.

At the end of the briefing, Estrada returns to his cabin where he records an update for his followers. He tells them that Ocean Gate is confident that the earlier glitches have been resolved, so his dive is scheduled to go ahead. Estrada is buzzing. He's about to become part of Titanic history. But Estrada does not have the full picture. He's not been told that the first dive only made it 23 feet, or that when the submersible was winched back onto the horizon Arctic, the entire front endcap fell off.

During the investigation following that incident, Ocean Gates engineers quickly discovered the problem. The titanium Ncap was designed to be secured to the carbon fiber hull with 18 bolts. But Rush had told the support crews they should only use four to hold it in place. He thought that the pressure of the water outside would create a strong enough seal while they were on dives, and using fewer bolts would make it much faster to load and unload passengers. Unfortunately, Rush had not considered whether four bolts would be enough to support the weight of the 3,500-pound N-cap when the Titan was out of the water.

As it turns out, it was not. And after the submersible was suddenly jolted while being winched back onto the support ship, The bolts snapped. So after the cause was identified, Rush revised the launch procedure. All 18 bolts would be secured before every dive. And with this new rule in place, the second expedition of the summer departs as scheduled on July 7, 2021. Still, after all the problems they experienced last time, Rush decides the first dive on

expedition two should just be a test. Only three people will be on board. Rush himself, co-pilot Scott Griffith, and Titanic Guide, Ph. Narcich. And this time Titan does successfully descend to the ocean floor and reaches the Titanic debris field. But there the sub-sonar stops working, and Rush can't locate the main wreck. Their only option is to search visually, but it's pitch black, and the subs' lights don't penetrate far in the murky water.

Eventually, they give up trying to find the Titanic and then ascend. But even on the surface, their troubles don't end. The Titan's docking platform malfunctions, leaving the submersible bobbing and the the waves for eight hours until the support crew can fix the problem. But despite these setbacks, Ocean Gate quickly issues a press release celebrating Titan's first descent to the Titanic. The dive is described as historic and a superb demonstration that innovation and safety can go hand in hand. But that journey ends up being the only deep-sea dive of Expedition 2. Still dissatisfied with Titan's performance, Rush decides to head back to shallower waters for more tests. And there, Estrada

and the other paying passengers finally get their turn inside Titan, but their experience is limited to a single dive to just 330 feet. So after seven days at sea, Horizon Arctic and Titan are back in port again. Ocean Gate staff disembark Expedition 2's disappointed passengers and pick up the next batch for Expedition 3. The process of loading and unloading passengers and supplies is getting smoother, but there's still little progress with the submersibles' mechanical issues. On Expedition 3, Titan does make it back to the ocean floor, and this time with paying passengers aboard,

but a battery failure leaves the sub unable to maneuver to the Titanic. Worse, the loss of power means that Rush can't release the external weights that allow Titan to return to the surface. So the passengers can do nothing but watch while Rush tries to find a workaround. He reassures them that there's no reason to worry. If all else fails, the rope holding the weights will eventually dissolve on their own. Still, it takes them four hours to finally solve the problem. By the time they reach sea level and the hatch is opened, the passengers have spent almost an entire day trapped inside the sub

without a single glimpse of the Titanic. Expedition 4 brings yet more issues. On the first dive, Titan loses communications and suffers a propulsion unit failure that makes steering nearly impossible. Rush tries to return to the surface, but again encounters a problem with releasing the ballast weights. This time at least, though, he's thought of a quicker solution. He asked the passengers to shift from one side of Titan to the other, rocking the sub from

side to side. This process takes 30 dizzying minutes before the waits finally dislodge and the Titan ascends to the surface. But despite all these problems, Ocean Gate eventually delivers on its promise. On the third dive of Expedition 4, Titan reaches the Titanic. The passengers are the first people to see the wreck with their own eyes since researchers dived there in a different sub almost two years earlier. It's a haunting and breathtaking experience. And when Titan returns to the support ship, the mood on board is jubilant, a combination

of celebration and relief. But there's little opportunity for Ocean Gate to build on the success. Fall is approaching, and as the weather shifts, there's only enough time for one more week-long trip into the Atlantic. On this final expedition, Titan manages to reach the wreck again on one dive, but all the others are aborted. So Ocean Gates' first season ends with just two successful trips to the Titanic and plenty of disappointed customers. As they head back to port, Stockton Rush can only hope that they've worked out all the kinks and that the following year, things will be smoother. And when the expeditions resume in the summer of 2022, there are some familiar faces.

Among those hoping that Ocean Gates' problems are a thing of the past is Mexican actor and YouTuber Alan Estrada. and when it's his turn to dive again, he climbs into Titan and sets up his camera to record the descent. Last time, the submersible bottomed out at just 330 feet, but this time they go far deeper. Estrada stares intently through the viewport window as Titan reaches 12,500 feet. After a two-hour descent, they are at the bottom of the ocean.

Suddenly, a ghostly shape materializes out of the darkness. It's the Titanic. The hull is encrusted with rust, hanging like bronze icicles from their railings and portholes. They're so close that Estrada feels like he could almost reach out and touch them. And as the Titan maneuvers across the wreck, their guide, P.H. Narzolet points out the landmarks, the bridge and the wheelhouse, a lifeboat crane frozen in its lowered position.

The iconic bow made famous in the 1997 movie. Estrada is elated. At last his dream of seeing the world's most famous shipwreck has come true. but this successful dive will prove the exception rather than the norm in 2022. That summer's expeditions are plagued by just as much bad luck as the previous years. On one dive, Titan explores the debris field but never manages to find the Titanic. On another, the dive is aborted at 37 feet because floats on the launch platform aren't secured and drift away. It seems that on almost every expedition, something goes wrong.

There are thruster problems and battery issues, but the real danger is the damage no one can see. With each descent into the crushing pressure of the deep ocean, Titan's carbon fiber hull is growing weaker. And 13 days after Alan Estrada's trip to the Titanic, it's the turn of another veteran of Titan's first season. Just like Estrada, businessman Fred Hagan's hopes of seeing Titanic were cut short by technical difficulties last year. But this time, everything goes smoothly. Ocean Gate's second pilot, Scott Griffith, successfully guides Titan to the bottom and explores a wreck. Then the sub begins its ascent to the surface, and the passengers are left to process what they've just seen. Each seems lost in their own thoughts.

Hagan had it expected to be awestruck by the Titanic itself, but he hadn't anticipated this strange sense of being suspended between two worlds. Beside him, pilot Scott Griffith tweaks the thrusters using the Titans' adapted PlayStation controller, before letting it settle in his lap. Well, folks, ballast looks good. Oxygen levels are good. No alarms. Titans behaving herself today. It'll be on deck in no time.

Well, it's certainly been a smooth ride, Scott. Thank you. My pleasure, Fred. Hope it was worth the wait. I don't know where to begin. I mean, I've seen that ship so many times in books and films, but to see it with your own eyes and to realize that this is where it all happened. Yeah?

Yeah. Guess me every time. I'm to think in a few years there won't be any of it left. Well, nature's doing a slow-motion salvage job, I guess, eating her alive, one iron railing at a time. That makes us some of the last who will ever see her. They drift back into comfortable silence as the first hints of brighter water filtered through the viewport.

But then a sharp sound rips through the submersible, echoing around the curved interior. Hagen looks at Griffith who peers at the screens. Hold on, folks. Hold on. No one panicked. Griffith scans his display. Yeah, yeah, everything looks normal. There's no pressure loss, there's no breach indication. We can all breathe easy.

It might have just been an exterior flex. We're ascending, so the pressure differential can get a little weird, but we're okay, I promise. Sounded like something snapped. It was possibly the carbon fiber in the hole. You've got to remember, there are millions of tiny strands in there. One or two of them breaking isn't a big deal. So that sound was normal? Normal's probably pushing it, but it happened right from the start.

with Titan. Stockton says that the first time he went down, he heard a bang so loud, he nearly jumped out of his skin. Hagen shakes his head, takes a deep breath. Griffith pass him on the shoulder. Did you think you were a goner or something there, friend? I don't think your time is up just yet. Just like the Titan, you've got plenty more adventures to come. A few minutes later, Titan breaches the surface. The submersible rocks in the waves, while Ocean Gates' divers secure it to the floating launch platform. Then it slowly pulled back up the ramp and onto Horizon The sub is inspected, and there are no obvious signs of damage from the loud bang the passengers hurt. But hidden within the submersibles hole, there is now a flaw, one that will get worse with every dive,

slowly spreading like a cancer. Titan has already been pushed beyond its limits, and it will not recover. I'm Leon Nafok, best known as the host and co-creator of podcasts, Slow Burn, Fiasco, and Think Twice, Michael Jackson. I'm here to tell you about my show, Final Thoughts, Jerry Springer, whose name, is synonymous with outrageous guests, taboo confessions, and vicious on-stage fights. But before the Jerry Springer show became a symbol of cultural decline, its namesake was a popular Midwestern politician and a serious-minded idealist with lofty ambitions. Through dozens of intimate and revealing interviews with those who knew Springer best,

I examined Springer's lifelong struggle to reconcile his TV persona with his political dreams and aspirations. Named one of the best podcasts of the year by the New Yorker. and Rolling Stone, Final Thoughts, Jerry Springer, is a story about choices, how we make them, how we justify them to ourselves, and how we transcend them or don't. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or binge the whole series ad-free right now on Audible. Start your Audible subscription in the Audible app. I'm Leon Nafok, best known as the host and co-creator of podcasts, Slow Burn, Fiasco, and Think Twice Michael Jackson. I'm here to tell you about my show, Final Thoughts, Jerry Springer,

name is synonymous with outrageous guests, taboo confessions, and vicious on-stage fights. But before the Jerry Springer show became a symbol of cultural decline, its namesake was a popular Midwestern politician and a serious-minded idealist with lofty ambitions. Through dozens of intimate and revealing interviews with those who knew Springer best, I examined Springer's lifelong struggle to reconcile his TV persona with his political dreams and aspirations. Named one of the Best Podcasts of the Year by The New Yorker and Rolling Stone. Final Thoughts, Jerry Springer, is a story about choices, how we make them, how we justify them to ourselves, and how we transcend them or don't. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or binge the whole series ad-free

right now on Audible. Start your Audible subscription in the Audible app. When Fred Hagan, Scott Griffith, and the other Titan passengers returned to the Horizon Arctic, they learned they weren't the only ones who heard the cracking noise. The sound was so loud that even the crew on the surface heard it. And by the time of the post-dive debrief the following morning, it's all many people on board the Horizon Arctic can talk about. Still, when Stockton Rush bounds into the ship's conference room, he's upbeat. The most important thing for him is that the Titan has reached the Titanic again and that Ocean Gates passengers feel they've gotten their money's worth. So he minimizes concerns about the crack heard during the ascent. He

acknowledges that it was a pretty loud bang, but he repeats a claim that he's made before. For, noises in a submersible are normal. As far as Rush is concerned, a component probably expanded or moved because of the temperature and pressure changes, and it's nothing to worry about. But one contractor working on Titan's navigation and communication systems isn't reassured. Antonella Wilby has spent years working with submersibles outside of Ocean Gate, and in her experience, even a remotely operated sub that made such a loud, unexplained noise would be removed from service until it been properly checked. But Rush intends to send the Titan back underwater with passengers in just a few days. But when Willby voices her concerns with Amber Bay, Ocean Gate's director of administration,

her argument is dismissed and instead, Bay responds that some people at Ocean Gate, have questions about Wilby. They wonder whether she has the right mindset to work in such a cutting-edge, experimental environment, whether she's enough of an explorer, a risk-taker for Ocean Gate. Wilby is stunned by the criticism,

but the conversation also helps make up her mind. She concludes that maybe she's not the right fit for Ocean Gate. And even before the expedition is over, Willby and the company agreed to go their separate ways. So with Wilby's intervention brushed aside, Titan returns to the bottom of the ocean four days later. And just a few days after that, the sub-descends and explores Titanic again. In all, Titan reaches the wreck site three times in eight days.

So at last, the submersible seems to be operating as Stockton Rush intended, ferrying high-paying clients to and from Titanic on the adventure of a lifetime. But just as Titan seems to have turned a corner, the 2022 dive season comes to an end. Horizon Arctic returns to St. John's and, Newfoundland, and Ocean Gates' equipment is unloaded from the support ship. Now that the dives are over for the year, head of engineering Phil Brooks wants to examine Titan more closely. Ever since that loud crack was heard, the acoustic monitoring system built into Titan's hull has been picking up more sounds than usual. It could be a sign that carbon fiber

strands are breaking at a higher rate than before, Brooks wants to check it out. He suggests transferring the Titan to Ocean Gates facility in Washington for a full health check. But Stockton Rush tells him that the cost of moving the submersible across the country is too high. So instead, Titan undergoes just a brief inspection on the dockside in Newfoundland. There are no obvious defects, so over Phil Brooks's objections, the submersible is stored there in an outdoor parking lot for the winter. For months, it's exposed to temperatures that range from a balmy 84 degrees to deep below freezing, as well as harsh weather, including rain, sleet, and snow.

It doesn't seem appropriate, so believing that safety is being sacrificed to save money, Brooks resigns from Ocean Gate, yet another senior employee walking away. But once again, Stockton Rush brushes it off. He's convinced that the carbon fiber hull is still sound, and that the 2023 season is going to be Ocean Gates best yet. But despite a run of successful dives the previous summer, a combination of bad weather and mechanical issues, dogs the early expeditions of 2023.

For the first three trips, passengers don't even make it out to the Titanic wreck site. Instead, they are restricted to shallow water dives closer to the Newfoundland coast. But in the middle of June, the sky's clear, and Ocean Gate's new support ship, Polar Prince, is able to head into the North Atlantic for Expedition 4. Joining as mission specialists are Pakistani businessman Shazada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleiman. And on June 18, 2023, they climb onto the Titans launch platform, on the deck of the polar prince. 19-year-old Suleiman steadies himself

as the ship rocks and the swell around him. Against the vast gray ocean, the Titan seems unnervingly small and fragile. His dad gives him a playful elbow. Hey, this is exciting, right? Uh-huh. I've got my camera already. You have everything you need?

Right here. Suleiman reaches into his pocket and pulls out a Rubik's cube. I just hope I don't get too nervous. You can do those things in your sleep. You know it. I've never done it. with so much at stake. Well, you will have plenty of time to practice on the way down.

It's going to take hours to get there. A titanium N-cap is open, and an Ocean Gate crew member gestures them inside. Suleiman hesitates, so Shazada goes first, crawling into the narrow cylinder. Once he's inside, he beckons for Suleiman to follow. Hi, come on, you've got a good seat here. Sulemon climbs in and takes his place beside his father.

Shazada leans closer. Just think, the next time we're back on that ship, have a Guinness world record. Suleiman Dawood, the deepest underwater Rubik's Cube solve in history. The platform creaks beneath them, and Suleiman tenses. Shazana pats his son's leg. It's just a sea, Suma. I know.

Titans gone down dozens of time before. I know. It's perfectly safe. I know. Sulemone nods and flicks around the top layer of the Rubik's cube. Just then they hear new voices outside, and Shazada looks up. Looks like our crewmates are here. But before the others join them, Shazana puts his arm around his son.

I'm glad I'm doing this with you, Sua. Me too, Dad. Happy Father's Day, I guess. Over the next few minutes, three more men climb on board the Titan. Ocean Gate CEO Stockin Rush is going to pilot the sub, and the crew is rounded out with French Titanic expert Ph. N'ajal and British businessman Hamish Harding. And when everyone is ready, Titan's end cap is closed and bolted shut. Then the submersible and its platform are lowered slowly down the,

ramp into the water with Suleiman Dawood nervously fiddling with his Rubus Cube along the way. Two hours later, communications with Titan will go suddenly silent. And at first, Ocean Gate staff aboard the polar prince assume it's a routine glitch, the same kind of technical issue they've dealt with on every expedition so far. But as the minutes slide into hours, they begin to worry. Titan has never been out of contact for this long before. And when the sub fails to resurface at the scheduled time, the captain of the polar prince summons help from the U.S. Coast Guard.

For more than three days afterward, a huge international search effort converges on the North Atlantic. Plains and ships sweep over an ever-expanding patch of ocean, hoping to spot the stranded sub drifting on the surface. Specialist sonar equipment scans beneath the waves, listening for any hint that the vessel might be trapped on the seafloor. Hopes briefly rise when acoustic sensors pick up banging noises underwater, but it's a false trail. Rather than a plea for help from Titan's trapped occupants,

it's decided it's probably rusted metalwork from the Titanic wreck itself. Then, five days after Titan went missing, the U.S. Coast Guard announces that debris has been found on the ocean floor, Titan's distinctive tail fin, the sub's titanium dome end caps, and part of its carbon fiber hull. Later that day, the Coast Guard confirms the news, Titans suffered a catastrophic implosion. The hull collapsed under the immense pressure of the,

water, killing those on board instantly. With this announcement, the search mission in their North Atlantic loses its urgency. But the team from the maritime engineering firm, Pelagic Research Services, remains on the scene. Inside a shipping container on the deck of the Horizon Arctic, monitors glow with live video feeds. Ignoring the rocking motion of the waves, Jesse Doran sits at the control panel. Every tiny movement of his fingers fires a thruster on the Odysseus 6K remotely operated submersible, more than two miles down at the bottom of the ocean. Odysseus is inching closer to one of Titan's domed end caps, but the currents sweep unpredictably

through the debris field. Sitting beside Dorn, Pelagic CEO Ed Cassano watches the feed, pointing out hazards as they drift across the screen, shreds of carbon fiber hull and torn cabling, pulverized electronics, fluttering through the water like snow. Any scrap of this could snag a thruster or foul an arm of the submersible. So Doran acknowledges Cassano's interjections with a nod, but never takes his eyes from the monitors, his posture tightening each time a loose shard drifts too near. For days, pelagic staff have tirelessly mapped the titan's debris field. After each dive, they return with more fragments of the submersible and Odysseus' mechanical arms, but the end cap is one of the

largest and most crucial pieces. It will be invaluable for investigators, but only if it can be recovered intact. Closing in on it, at last, Doren edges the ROV close enough. He closes the claw around the N-cap and murmurs that he has it. Casano exhales and reminds him to retreat slowly. On the monitors, the debris field recedes into darkness as Odysseus begins its scent. Control room settles into quiet focus. In a few hours, the shattered dome will break the surface. Not long ago, it was part of a vessel that Stockton Rush hoped would redefine deep ocean exploration. But now, it's evidence that will be used to explain his death. Following the Titans' catastrophic implosion in June 2023, the U.S. Coast Guard launches an

immediate investigation into what happened. For over 12 months, experts combed through every aspect of the submersibles' design, construction, and operation. They review internal Ocean Gate emails, technical reports, and dialogues dating back years. Engineers specializing in composite materials like carbon fiber, examines. the recovered fragments of the hull, while experienced submersible pilots are brought in to try and recreate Titan's final dissent. Parallel inquiries by Canadian authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board share information, but the Coast Guard's investigation becomes a central clearinghouse for evidence. And in September 2024, the Coast Guard convenes a two-week public hearing in Charleston, South Carolina.

There, a board will hear evidence following the basic format of a trial. Witnesses will be called and questioned by investigators. Each speaker has the right to legal counsel, but no charges have been brought against anyone. Instead, right now, the aim is simply to cut through the rumors that have circulated ever since the Titan went missing and find out the truth. The first witness to appear is Ocean Gates' former director of engineering, Tony Nissen. Easing into a stiff-backed chair, he tries to ignore the buzz of the overhead fluorescence. The room is colder than he's expected, or maybe it's nerves. In front of him on a raised platform,

sit three members of the U.S. Coast Guard Board of Investigation. Each has a thick binder of documents, a silent reminder of why he's here. Nissen clasps his hands to still the tremor in them, and then exhale slowly. One of the board members adjusts his microphone. Mr. Nissen, thanks for appearing today. When you're ready, we'd like to begin.

Nissen swallows. Yeah, of course. So for the record, please state your name and your role at Ocean Gate. My name's Tony Nissen. I served as Director of Engineering at Ocean Gate until early 2023. And what were your roles and responsibilities in your job as Director of Engineering? Well, that's an interesting question.

I was recruited by Ocean Gate when Titan was nearly complete in the sense that all the items were in place. They just needed someone to take it over the finish line. In my mind's eye, I was just going to put together the parts. Oh, my apologies. That's my watch telling me I have an abnormally high heart rate. Nissen smiles nervously. Investigators remain stone-faced, though. Let's get into your role a little further, though.

As the director of engineering, did you make all engineering decisions that affected Titan? Oh, no. Did you make any engineering decisions? Yes, but not that many. So who would make the majority of the engineering decisions? That was Stockton, Stockton, Rush. And was that Mr. Rush's management technique just with you, or was that employed throughout Ocean Game? Oh, Stockton would always fight for what he wanted, and he wouldn't give an inch. But you were the senior engineer at the company.

Did you challenge decisions you believed were unsafe? I tried. Many of us tried. Can you give us an example? Oh, I can give you dozens. Anytime we raise concerns about testing protocols, about how fast we were pushing toward passenger dives, about the carbon fiber hull, about anything, Stockton would just wave us all.

He'd say we were being overly cautious that innovation required risk. Were there consequences for pushing back? professionally or otherwise? Not directly, not in the sense of any actual punishment or anything, but there was a culture. If you question too much, you weren't seen as a team player. You were told you didn't have the explorer mindset or you weren't visionary enough. People internalized that. Good engineers started second-guessing themselves. Most people would just eventually back down and give stocking what you wanted. It was almost like a death from a thousand cuts. Nissen feels himself choking up.

He stops speaking for a moment and exhales trying to settle himself. The board member leans into the microphone. Mr. Nissen, thank you. But can we continue with additional questions regarding decision-making structures at Ocean Gate? Yes, yes, of course. Tony Nissen is far from the only witness to question Stockton Rush's leadership. And the stories begin to echo. Nissen's successor, as Director of Engineering, Phil Brooks,

recounts how Titan was not properly checked after a loud cracking noise was heard on a dive. Contractor Antonella Wilde describes how she left Ocean Gate after becoming convinced that the company lacked the discipline needed to keep people safe. Former director of Marine Operations David Lockridge then takes the stand to accuse rush of arrogance by refusing to tolerate any criticism of the company's approach. Bonnie Carl, the company's director of finance, describes how she followed Lockridge out the door when the scale of his concerns became clear. submersible experts Carl Stanley and William Conan each recount their attempts to intervene when they identified flaws in Titan's design and how they eventually concluded that Rush was determined to sidestep all scrutiny in his hurry to get his vessel in the water. The pattern is obvious. People repeatedly tried to warn Stockton Rush about the dangers of what he was doing but he never listened. Instead, he fell back on a familiar defense that Ocean Gate was an innovator.

operating at a level his critics simply could not understand. The U.S. Coast Guard's final report reveals the truth. Released in August 2025, almost a year after the public hearings, it condenses thousands of documents and transcripts into 335 pages. In meticulous detail, it explains how Titan's carbon fiber hull weakened over time until it could no longer cope with the pressures of the deep ocean. Eventually, it imploded with such force that the noise was audible, 12,000 feet above on the deck of the polar prince.

Even Stockton Rush's wife Wendy heard it as she monitored the subs tracking, though she thought it was just a door slamming on the ship. But the report doesn't just say what happened, it explains why. And the Coast Guard's judgment is scathing. It calls the tragedy preventable and blames Ocean Gates' critically flawed design practices, inadequate safety protocols, and toxic working culture. The greatest criticisms are reserved for Stockton Rush. Rush himself. According to the Coast Guard, he exhibited negligence. He used intimidation and false

claims to evade regulatory scrutiny, and had he lived, he would now be facing the prospect of jail time. But Stockton Rush did not survive. His final resting place is 12,500 feet below the surface, alongside the famous shipwreck that played such a central role in the last eight years of his life. More than a century after the Titanic slipped beneath the waves of the North Atlantic, the once-magnificant, the once magnificent liner lies broken in two surrounded by debris. The bow still holds its shape, eerily dignified in the perpetual darkness, while the grotesquely twisted stern reveals all the shocking violence of the liner's final destruction. But the most famous shipwreck in the world is not a permanent memorial.

Even in the stillness of the deep, it is dying, dissolving grain by grain. Long tendrils of iron-eating bacteria hang from the hull, consuming it in slothel. low motion. Eventually, little will remain of the liner except a smudge of rust on the ocean floor. But beside it, scattered among the few relics that have resisted corrosion and decay will be the wreckage of another far more modern tragedy, a tangle of wiring, a shard of carbon fiber. The last remnants of the Titan submersible and all that remains of Stockton Rush's dream. During his life, Stockton Rush could not understand why his critics were out to get him. He genuinely believed that Titan's design was not flawed but visionary, a stroke of genius that would revolutionize

humankind's ability to access the deep. He was convinced that history would recognize his achievements and that one day he would be hailed as a trailblazer for heroically pushing the boundaries of science and exploration. In all of those beliefs, he was wrong. After the accident that claimed his life and those of his passengers, Stockton Rush's company Ocean Gate was shut down and its reputation left in tatters. But his failure did nothing to diminish the allure of the Titanic or dampen the dreams of those who longed to see her wreck before it disappears forever. Less than a year after the loss of the Titan, an American real estate billionaire announced a partnership with a maritime engineer. Together they intend to build a new submersible capable of transporting people to the wreck of the Titanic.

This new generation of would-be explorers insist that it has learned the lessons of the past, and they've pledged that unlike the Titan, their submersible will only voyage to the bottom of the ocean after it's been thoroughly tested and certified as safe by independent experts. If only Ocean Gate had followed the same path. In 2021, Rush told an interviewer that he hoped to be remembered as an innovator. He quoted the famous World War II General Douglas MacArthur, who said, you're remembered for the rules you break. But what Stockton Rush never seemed to understand was that while some rules can be broken

and some can be questioned, many exist because someone, somewhere, paid the price for ignoring them. From Audible Originals and Ayrship, this is episode four of our series on the Titan submersible disaster for American scandal. In our next episode, we explore the role of trailblazers in American culture and how the glamour of apparent innovation can mask dangerous behavior, corporate failure, and even outright fraud. Follow American Scandal on the Audible app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to all episodes of American Scandal, ad-free, by joining Audible. And to find out more about me and my other projects, including my live stage show coming to a theater near you, go to not-that-lindsaygram.com. That's not-that-lindsaygram.com. If you'd like to learn more about the Titan submersible disaster, we recommend the documentaries, Titan, the Ocean Gate Disamination.

from Netflix and Implosion, the Titan sub-disaster from the BBC. This episode contains reenactments and dramatized details, and while in most cases we can't know exactly what was said, all our dramatizations are based on historical research. American Scandal is hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham for Airship. This episode is written in research by Scott Reeves, senior producer Andy Beckerman, managing producer Emily Burke, fact-checking by Alyssa Jung Perry,

Audio editing by Muhammad Shazim. Music by Thrum. Sound design by Gabriel Gould. Executive producer for Airship is William Simpson. Executive producer for Audible is Jenny Lauer Beckman. Head of Creative Development at Audible, Kate Naven. Head of Audible Originals, North America, Marshall Louis. And Chief Content Officer for Audible, Rachel Giazza.

Copyright 2026 by Audible Originals LLC. Sound recording copyright, 2026 by Audible Originals LLC.