Titan Submersible's Primitive Navigation: Handwritten Coordinates and Excel Sheets Exposed
Former OceanGate Contractor Reveals Titan’s Reliance on Handwritten Coordinates
In a startling revelation during ongoing US Coast Guard hearings, former OceanGate contractor Antonella Wilby disclosed that the ill-fated Titan submersible relied on handwritten coordinates and Excel spreadsheets for navigation.
Wilby described the submersible’s ultra-short baseline (USBL) acoustic positioning system, which used sonar pings to measure velocity, position, and depth. However, instead of automatically feeding this data into mapping software, the Titan’s coordinates were manually recorded in a notebook before being entered into an Excel spreadsheet.
“We tried to update the coordinates every five minutes, but it was a challenging process,” Wilby testified, highlighting the convoluted and potentially unreliable nature of the system.
OceanGate reportedly claimed to be developing an in-house navigation system but ran out of time. Wilby stated she had informed supervisors that the navigation method was “idiotic” before her dismissal from the company.
The hearings have unveiled other concerning details about the Titan’s operations. Previously, it was reported that the submersible used an off-the-shelf Logitech gamepad for steering, leading a CBS News segment to describe the setup as “MacGyver jury-riggedness.”
Wilby also recounted hearing a deafening bang when the Titan surfaced after a 2022 dive, audible even above the ocean’s surface. This testimony adds to growing concerns about the vessel’s safety.
Former OceanGate director of marine operations, David Lochridge, testified that former CEO Stockton Rush had crashed a Titan predecessor, Cyclops 1, in 2016. Rush was among the five passengers who perished when the Titan imploded last year.
As more details emerge, the disaster appears increasingly linked to a disregard for safety regulations. Rush once reportedly boasted that safety was a “waste,” a statement that now casts a shadow over the tragedy.
Wilby characterized the safety culture at OceanGate as “safety theatre,” recalling being told, “Don’t worry, it’ll be fun,” after raising safety concerns.
These revelations continue to shed light on the circumstances surrounding the Titan disaster, raising questions about oversight and safety practices in deep-sea exploration ventures.
