NTSB Engineer Says Carbon Fiber Hull From Submersible Showed Signs of Flaws

NTSB Engineer Says Carbon Fiber Hull From Submersible Showed Signs of Flaws
Remains of the Titan submersible (C) on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean in June 2023 in a still frame from video. U.S. Coast Guard Video courtesy Pelagic Research Services via AP
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The carbon fiber hull of the experimental submersible that imploded en route to the wreckage of the Titanic had imperfections dating to the manufacturing process and behaved differently after a loud bang was heard on one of the dives the year before the tragedy, an engineer with the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday.

Engineer Don Kramer told a Coast Guard panel there were wrinkles, porosity, and voids in the carbon fiber used for the pressure hull of the Titan submersible. Two different types of sensors on Titan recorded the “loud acoustic event” that earlier witnesses testified about hearing on a dive on July 15, 2022, he said.