Engineer says carbon fibre hull of Titan submersible showed signs of flaws

The wreckage of the Titan submersible was discovered on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean (US Coast Guard Video courtesy Pelagic Research Services/AP)

The carbon fibre 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 on Wednesday.

Engineer Don Kramer told a Coast Guard panel there were wrinkles, porosity and voids in the carbon fibre used for the pressure hull of the Titan submersible.