A $30 Logitech game controller has become a focal point in a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit filed against OceanGate, the company behind the Titan submersible that imploded in June 2023, killing all five passengers, including CEO Stockton Rush.
The lawsuit, filed by the estate of Paul-Henri Louis Emile Nargeolet, a crewmember on the ill-fated dive, criticizes the use of a wireless game controller to pilot the submersible. The complaint describes the controller as “hip, contemporary, wireless electronics systems” and notes that it was not custom-made for the Titan’s design and operation.
Key Criticisms:
• The submersible was made from carbon fiber, which can crack under repeated compression, rather than titanium, which gets stronger under compression.
• The controller worked via Bluetooth, rather than being hardwired, providing a “point of failure.”
• The submersible had only one button within its main chamber, with the remainder of its controls and gauges being touchscreen.
An expert quoted in the complaint states that such systems provide “multiple points of failure” and that “every sub in the world has hardwired controls for a reason,” namely that a loss of signal would not imperil the vessel.
The lawsuit seeks at least $50 million in damages and alleges that the combination of improperly designed or constructed parts or systems contributed to a “daisy chain of failures” that led to the submersible’s implosion.