A Pennsylvania man who was a paying passenger on the submersible Titan questioned the concept of safety in light of the extremely risky nature of Titanic expeditions.
Fred Hagen testified at U.S. Coast Guard hearings on the Titan disaster Friday morning.
He was part of two Titanic expeditions. One in 2021 in which they had to abort the mission due to a problem with the submersible’s thrusters, and another in 2022 where the “loud bang” was heard on surfacing.
Hagen recounted the bang, and what was learned about the cause, saying they were all concerned that there was a crack in the hull, however an inspection carried out on the ship showed that the fuselage of the Titan had “jumped” in its carriage, “so, there was no damage.”
Hagen was asked whether the big bang concerned him.
“Well ya, you’re in a submersible and there’s a loud bang, you’d have to be brain dead not to be somewhat concerned.”
When asked whether he felt safe diving to the Titanic, or whether he’d dive again after the incident, Hagen—who described OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush as “a brilliant visionary”—tried to put it in perspective.
“Anyone that felt safe gong to depths in the Titan was deluded or delusional. I mean it was an experimental vessel, it was clear that it was dangerous.” Hagen says those who agreed to descend in the Titan were “embracing the sense of risk” or where otherwise delusional if they didn’t think it was safe. He compared the experience to jumping out of a plane, “you don’t do it because it’s safe, you do it because it’s an adrenalin rush”
“We weren’t going down in search of safety, we were going down in search of adventure and exploration.”