A transcript between the doomed Titan submersible and its mother ship which detailed the craft’s descent towards the wreck of the Titanic was "made up", a US federal investigation chief has declared.
The communications were released last summer and indicated that a series of alarms had transformed thedive into a harrowing ordeal, with the five voyagers desperately trying to resurface.
However, the head of the US federal investigation team said the log was completely fabricated.
A year long probe found that the passengers onboard the OceanGate submersible had no warning signs of the catastrophic implosion.
Captain Jason D. Neubauer, head of the US federal investigation team said the log was completely fabricated
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Participants paid $250,000 each to descend to the Titanic from the surface but two miles down, an implosion caused the sub to collapse violently in an instant.
The disaster killed the company CEO Stockton Rush, explorer Hamish Harding, French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his 19-year-old son, Sulaiman on June 18 last year.
"I’m confident it’s a false transcript. It was made up. Somebody did it well enough to make it look plausible," Captain Jason D. Neubauer told the New York Times.
The chairman of the Marine Board of Investigation said the author of the log is unknown.
The fake transcript - which circulated online following its release - included technical jargon and rational descriptions with specific acronyms unique to the Titan.
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It implied that the crew inside were in a state of panic as they made attempts to bring the vessel to the surface before communications suddenly stopped.
Captain Neubauer said his team, supported by investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board, had "found no evidence" that Titan’s passengers were awareness of the imminent implosion.
OceanGate said the R.T.M. (Real Time Hull Health Monitoring system) is "an unparalleled safety feature that assesses the integrity of the hull throughout every dive", which would warn of any problems.
The illegitimate log saw a message regarding the sensor which read: "RTM alert active all red."
The purported last message said: "Please respond if you're able."
Captain Neubauer said the log made the adventurers "look like they were panicking".
Part of the Titan submarine was found in the Atlantic Ocean following the tragic implosion
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Retired Navy submariner and submersible pilot, Dr. Alfred S. McLaren originally thought the transcript was accurate, but later considered that it might have been concocted to tarnish OceanGate's reputation or to distress the victims' families.
"It may have been done to embarrass OceanGate. It certainly was guaranteed to stir up the relatives," he said.
Neubauer’s team obtained access to the authentic communication records between the submersible and its mother ship, which are still confidential as part of the federal investigation.
The Captain added that he hopes the truth brings some solace to the families affected - as their loved-ones did not suffer in their final moments.
He said: "It doesn't make it any less painful, but it can help."
