Original subtitles

Narrator: THE TITANIC-- BUILT TO BE UNSINKABLE.

CAPTAIN AND CREW-- THE FINEST OF THEIR DAY.

THE NIGHT--PERFECTLY CALM.

Woman: THE SEA WAS SO VERY STILL,

AND THE SKY, SO MANY STARS.

Man: ICE AHEAD!

Narrator: THE MIGHTY SHIP IS DESTROYED BY A SINGLE ICEBERG...

SOME 300 FEET OF HULL PLATING RIPPED APART AT THE SEAMS.

[MORSE CODE BEEPING]

[SCREAMS]

BUT EVEN IN THE MOMENT OF DISASTER, THERE IS HOPE--

A SHIP ON THE HORIZON.

Man: WE BOTH CAME TO THE CONCLUSION

THAT SHE WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE SIGNALED.

THE CAPTAIN SAID, "TELL THEM TO COME AT ONCE, WE ARE SINKING."

Narrator: YET THAT SHIP NEVER ARRIVES.

FOR 100 YEARS WE'VE WONDERED, WHY?

AND HOW DID THE TRAGEDY HAPPEN IN THE FIRST PLACE?

WHO--OR WHAT--WAS TO BLAME?

AN INVESTIGATOR IS DETERMINED TO REEXAMINE ALL THE EVIDENCE...

Man: SO SHE'S AT TITANIC'S WRECK SITE--THAT'S INCREDIBLE.

Narrator: HE TRAVELS THE WORLD,

COLLECTS DATA,

AND PORES THROUGH THOUSANDS OF HOURS OF EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY.

Man: THE MORE I READ ABOUT THE TRUTH OF WHAT HAPPENED,

THE MORE I REALIZE HOW STRANGE IT REALLY WAS.

Narrator: FOR 100 YEARS, WE'VE SOUGHT CULPRITS

AMONG THOSE ON BOARD AND EVEN ELSEWHERE.

NOW, AT LAST, ONE MAN HAS FOUND THE ANSWERS...

...THAT FINALLY CLOSE THE CASE OF TITANIC.

LAS VEGAS...

THE ENTERTAINMENT CAPITAL OF THE WORLD...

...HARDLY WHERE ONE WOULD EXPECT TO COME FACE TO FACE

WITH THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS SHIP.

CONTROVERSY HAS SWIRLED AROUND THESE OBJECTS

RECOVERED FROM THE TITANIC WRECK SITE

SINCE THEY FIRST WENT ON DISPLAY TO THE PUBLIC IN 1994.

MANY QUESTION WHETHER IT'S RIGHT TO DISTURB A GRAVE SITE...

...WHILE MARINE ARCHAEOLOGISTS COMPLAIN

THAT AN IMPORTANT SITE HAS BEEN CRUDELY SALVAGED.

BUT FOR HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR TIM MALTIN,

THESE HULL PIECES SERVE A VITAL PURPOSE.

Tim Maltin: THIS IS WHAT WAS BUILT IN BELFAST 100 YEARS AGO.

AND THIS IS A TESTAMENT TO HOW BEAUTIFULLY BUILT SHE WAS.

SHE'S LIKE A WORK OF ART,

EVERY RIVET LITERALLY HANDCRAFTED.

IT'S EXTRAORDINARY TO BE STANDING THIS CLOSE TO IT.

IT'S ALMOST AS THOUGH TITANIC HAS COME BACK FROM THE DEAD

AND SORT OF HIT ME IN THE FACE ALMOST, BECAUSE SHE'S HERE.

Narrator: IN THE HUNDRED YEARS SINCE THE SINKING,

AN ELABORATE WEB OF MYTHS HAS GROWN UP AROUND TITANIC.

SOME EVEN BELIEVE THE BUILDERS CUT CORNERS

WHEN THEY BEGAN HER CONSTRUCTION.

Tim: WHAT YOU CAN SEE HERE FROM THIS 15-TON PIECE OF THE TITANIC

IS THE STRENGTH OF IT, JUST THE SHEER...

WE DON'T BUILD THINGS LIKE THIS TODAY ANYMORE.

THE WAY ITS HEAVINESS, ITS STRENGTH,

THE WAY THE RIVETS WERE HEAT SEALED INTO IT

AND SHRUNK ONTO THIS VERY THICK SHELL PLATING HERE.

AND EVEN OVER HERE YOU CAN SEE THE GLASS,

THE THICKNESS OF THE GLASS IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

I MEAN, THAT IS NEARLY TWO INCHES THICK.

ONE OF THE MOST COMMON MYTHS TODAY

IS THAT TITANIC WAS SOMEHOW BADLY BUILT,

OR THE RIVETS WERE WEAK, OR THE METAL WAS BRITTLE.

AND I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT'S A COMPLETE MYTH.

THE BUILDERS WERE ACTUALLY ENCOURAGED, IF ANYTHING,

TO SPEND MORE MONEY ON THE SHIP, NOT LESS.

THIS SHIP IS BUILT LIKE A BATTLESHIP.

Narrator: TIM MALTIN HAS DEBUNKED A LOT OF MYTHS

ABOUT TITANIC...

BUT HE STILL HAS QUESTIONS.

HE BELIEVES THIS 100-YEAR-OLD CASE IS FAR FROM CLOSED.

Tim: I'VE SPENT MY WHOLE LIFE STUDYING THE TITANIC,

AND NOW I'M STANDING IN FRONT OF IT.

AND THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A REALLY EXCITING JOURNEY,

BECAUSE NOW I'M GOING TO PUT ALL MY THEORIES TO THE TEST

OF WHY TITANIC SANK.

Narrator: TIM'S THEORIES ARE THE RESULT OF HUNDREDS OF HOURS

SPENT PORING THROUGH EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY.

TITANIC IS, IN FACT,

ONE OF THE BEST DOCUMENTED DISASTERS IN HISTORY,

THE SUBJECT OF MASSIVE PUBLIC INQUIRIES

IN BOTH NEW YORK AND LONDON.

150 WITNESSES WERE GRILLED WITH 50,000 QUESTIONS.

MUCH OF THAT HISTORIC AND SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE

IS GATHERED IN THIS LIBRARY IN LONDON--

THE BASE FOR TIM'S INVESTIGATION.

Tim: AS SOON AS THE SURVIVORS CAME OFF THE TITANIC,

THEY GAVE THEIR INTERVIEWS TO NEWSPAPERS

WHO SLIGHTLY EMBELLISHED THE STORIES.

AND WHAT I'VE BEEN INTERESTED IN DOING IS GETTING BACK

TO WHAT PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED.

Narrator: FROM THE SURVIVORS, TIM HAS SIFTED OUT A HANDFUL

WHOSE TESTIMONY SEEMS VITAL.

ONE OF THEM IS SCIENCE TEACHER LAWRENCE BEESLEY.

Tim: HE WAS PAYING VERY CLOSE ATTENTION TO EVERYTHING.

HE EVEN, ON THE DECK, TIMED THE SWELL OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC.

SO HE GIVES US AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT

OF WHAT WOULD SEEM TO BE QUITE MUNDANE DETAIL,

BUT IT PROVIDES VERY IMPORTANT CLUES

OF WHAT REALLY HAPPENED THAT NIGHT.

Narrator: CAPTAIN EDWARD SMITH DIDN'T SURVIVE.

BUT THE TWO LOOKOUTS

FREDERICK FLEET AND REGINALD LEE DID.

FOR TIM, THEIR TESTIMONY SOMEHOW HOLDS THE KEY

TO THE BIGGEST MYSTERY OF ALL.

Tim: OBVIOUSLY, WE KNOW THAT TITANIC HIT AN ICEBERG.

BUT WHAT I WAS INTERESTED IN IS WHY DID SHE HIT AN ICEBERG?

YOU KNOW, WHY IS IT THAT THE BEST NAVIGATORS OF THEIR DAY

IN THE FINEST SHIP, BEING AS CAREFUL AS THEY COULD,

WHY DID THEY CRASH THAT NIGHT?

Narrator: AND THE KEY TO A SECOND ENDURING MYSTERY

LIES WITH STANLEY LORD, CAPTAIN OF THE CALIFORNIAN,

A NEARBY SHIP THAT INEXPLICABLY FAILED

TO COME TO TITANIC'S RESCUE THAT NIGHT.

Tim: THE MORE I GOT TO LEARN ABOUT THIS SHIP

AND ITS EFFECT ON THE TITANIC DISASTER,

THE MORE I REALIZED THAT

THEY HADN'T GOT TO THE BOTTOM OF IT YET.

Narrator: THE CAREERS AND REPUTATIONS OF ALL THESE MEN

WOULD BE FOREVER TARNISHED BY THE SINKING OF TITANIC.

BUT DID THEY DESERVE THE BLAME?

THAT IS WHAT TIM IS DETERMINED TO FIND OUT.

Tim: OVER THE YEARS, TITANIC HAS BECOME A MYTH,

AND AS WE GO ON, WE GET FURTHER AND FURTHER AWAY FROM THE TRUTH.

AND WHAT I WANTED TO DO IS WIND THE CLOCK BACK TO 1912,

TO ALMOST PUT MYSELF IN THAT POSITION THERE,

AND TO REALLY LEARN ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT AS WELL,

AND TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT.

Narrator: TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF TITANIC'S FINAL MYSTERIES,

TIM FIRST NEEDS THE SHIP.

Tim: WHEN I WAS ABOUT 11 YEARS OLD,

I GOT SOME GLUE AND PLANS AND CUT THEM UP,

AND JUST ACTUALLY GLUING THEM ONTO CARDBOARD,

AND ACTUALLY STARTING TO SEE THE PROFILE OF TITANIC

COME TO LIFE OFF THE PAGE...

IT REALLY MAKES THE TITANIC BECOME A REAL SHIP,

THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THE GEOGRAPHY OF.

Narrator: IN THE YEARS SINCE THEN,

TIM HAS METICULOUSLY RECREATED TITANIC'S ORIGINAL PLANS,

BRINGING THEM TO LIFE AS AN ANIMATED 3D MODEL.

AT THE TIME, TITANIC IS THE LARGEST MOVING OBJECT EVER MADE.

SHE'S A SIXTH OF A MILE LONG, 175 FEET HIGH

AND DIVIDED INTO 10 DECKS.

BUILT LIKE A BATTLESHIP,

TITANIC'S KEEL IS LAID AT HARLAND AND WOLFF'S SHIPYARD

IN BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND, IN 1909.

OVER 20,000 TONS OF STEEL GO INTO HER FRAME AND HULL PLATING.

THE TOP DECK HOUSES THE BRIDGE.

THE NEXT SEVEN DECKS INCLUDED

EXQUISITE FIRST CLASS STATE ROOMS,

AND LUXURIOUS PUBLIC AREAS,

SUCH AS THE SPECTACULAR GRAND STAIRCASE.

AT THE BOTTOM, THE REMAINING THREE DECKS

ARE RESERVED FOR CREW, CARGO AND MACHINERY.

THIS EXTRAORDINARY VESSEL WAS MOVED THROUGH THE WATER

BY THREE GIANT PROPELLERS

GENERATING NEARLY 60,000 HORSEPOWER,

THE POWER OF 100 MODERN 18-WHEELERS.

THE CONSTRUCTION TAKES LONGER THAN EXPECTED.

TITANIC'S MAIDEN VOYAGE IS DELAYED BY ALMOST THREE WEEKS.

EVEN THEN, AS HER OWNERS-- THE WHITE STAR LINE--

RUSH TO GET HER READY, THERE ARE SIGNS OF TROUBLE.

Tim: EVEN BEFORE TITANIC LEFT BELFAST,

THERE WAS A FIRE THAT HAD BEGUN TO BURN IN THE COAL

IN THIS BUNKER HERE,

BETWEEN BOILER ROOMS NUMBERS FIVE AND SIX.

THEY BEGAN TO RAKE THE COAL OUT ON WEDNESDAY,

AND IT TOOK THEM UNTIL SATURDAY NIGHT

BEFORE THE FIRE WAS PUT OUT.

SO IT TOOK THEM NEARLY THE WHOLE VOYAGE

TO GET THE FIRE UNDER CONTROL.

Narrator: BUNKER FIRES WEREN'T UNCOMMON,

AND EVEN THOUGH THIS ONE WASN'T PUT OUT FOR SEVERAL DAYS,

IT'S UNLIKELY THAT IT SERIOUSLY WEAKENED

THE STRUCTURE OF TITANIC.

ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 1912,

TITANIC FINALLY WEIGHS ANCHOR

AND SETS SAIL FROM SOUTHAMPTON FOR NEW YORK.

HER PASSENGERS COME FROM EVERY CLASS OF SOCIETY--

THE WEALTHY ELITE

AND EMIGRANTS HOPING FOR A NEW START IN AMERICA.

Tim: TITANIC WAS A FLOATING CITY

CAPABLE OF CARRYING 3,500 PEOPLE,

AND SHE HAD FABULOUS FACILITIES.

Narrator: FOR THOSE TRAVELING FIRST CLASS,

LIFE COULDN'T HAVE BEEN BETTER,

AS COLONEL ARCHIBALD GRACIE,

A GRADUATE OF WEST POINT MILITARY ACADEMY,

WOULD LATER TESTIFY.

Archibald Gracie: I ENJOYED MYSELF

AS IF I WERE IN A SUMMER PALACE ON THE SEASHORE,

SURROUNDED WITH EVERY COMFORT.

THERE WAS NOTHING TO SUGGEST THAT

WE WERE ON THE STORMY ATLANTIC OCEAN.

THE MOTION OF THE SHIP AND THE NOISE OF ITS MACHINERY

WERE SCARCELY DISCERNIBLE ON DECK OR IN THE SALOONS,

DAY OR NIGHT.

Narrator: THIS IS THE GENIUS OF TITANIC.

IT MANAGES TO COMBINE HUGE SIZE WITH IMMACULATE STYLE.

ON THE LOWER DECK,

FREEZER STORES MEAN THAT THE RESTAURANTS AND CAFES

ARE STOCKED WITH THE FINEST FRESH PRODUCE.

CAFE PARISIEN, OUT ON B DECK,

IS ACCOMPANIED BY A VIEW OF THE NORTH ATLANTIC

PASSING BY THE FRENCH WINDOWS--

A FIRST ON ANY SHIP.

THE FIRST-CLASS A LA CARTE MENU INSIDE THE SHIP HAS 11 COURSES,

INCLUDING OYSTERS, SIRLOIN OF BEEF,

PEACHES IN CHARTREUSE JELLY, AND CHOCOLATE AND VANILLA DESSERTS.

OTHER LUXURIES ARE EQUALLY SUITED TO THE FITNESS FANATIC,

COLONEL GRACIE.

Gracie: BUT WHEN SUNDAY MORNING CAME,

I CONSIDERED IT HIGH TIME TO BEGIN MY CUSTOMARY EXERCISES.

I WAS UP EARLY BEFORE BREAKFAST PREPARATORY TO A SWIM

IN THE SIX-FOOT-DEEP TANK OF SALT WATER,

HEATED TO A REFRESHING TEMPERATURE.

IN NO SWIMMING BATH HAD I EVER ENJOYED SUCH PLEASURE BEFORE.

HOW CURTAILED THAT ENJOYMENT WOULD HAVE BEEN

HAD THE PRESENTIMENT COME TO ME

TELLING HOW BEFORE DAWN OF ANOTHER DAY

I WOULD BE SWIMMING FOR MY LIFE IN MID-OCEAN.

Tim: SO WHAT YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND

IS THAT THE BUILDERS AND THE CREW

REALLY BELIEVED SHE WAS UNSINKABLE.

AND, OF COURSE, THE PASSENGERS, THEREFORE,

REALLY BELIEVED SHE WAS UNSINKABLE, AS WELL.

Narrator: 2,000 MILES AWAY, AN ARMADA OF DEADLY ICE

BREAKS LOOSE EVERY YEAR FROM THE GLACIERS OF GREENLAND.

ONE OF THESE GIANT SHARDS HAS BEEN DRIFTING FOR A YEAR

AND IS NOW ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH TITANIC.

THE WORLD'S LARGEST SHIP HAS BARELY FOUR DAYS TO LIVE.

THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1912.

DAY TWO OF TITANIC'S MAIDEN VOYAGE.

FIRST-CLASS PASSENGERS ARE ENJOYING THE SMOOTH RIDE

IN THE DINING SALOON ON DECK D,

THE MOST STABLE PART OF THE SHIP.

FOR THEM AND THE REST OF THE PASSENGERS,

THE SHIP'S LUXURIOUS FITTINGS ARE A PLEASANT DISTRACTION

ON THEIR TRANSATLANTIC JOURNEY.

Tim: FOR SOME PEOPLE,

THEY WERE MAKING THE BIGGEST JOURNEY OF THEIR LIVES,

AND THEY WOULD NEVER RETURN.

BUT FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE IN FIRST CLASS, FOR EXAMPLE,

BUSINESSPEOPLE, THEY MIGHT DO THIS JOURNEY ONCE A MONTH,

FOR EXAMPLE, THEY WERE ALWAYS DOING IT,

AND THEY DIDN'T EXPECT IT TO BE A TRIP INTO THE UNKNOWN.

THEY EXPECTED TO ARRIVE ON WEDNESDAY MORNING,

AND THAT WAS IT.

Narrator: WHETHER THEY'RE TRAVELING FIRST CLASS OR THIRD,

EVERYONE EXPECTS TITANIC WILL DELIVER THEM SAFELY TO NEW YORK

IN SEVEN DAYS.

Tim: BY 1912, THE STEAMSHIP COMPANIES HAD GOT TOGETHER

AND ESTABLISHED EFFECTIVELY

RAILWAY LINES ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.

AND THIS IS BECAUSE THE INTENSE COMPETITION OF PASSENGERS

WANTING TO GET TO NEW YORK FASTER AND FASTER

WERE CAUSING LINERS TO TAKE RISKS.

Narrator: TO AVOID COLLISIONS, STEAMER TRAFFIC IS SEPARATED

INTO EASTBOUND AND WESTBOUND ROUTES

KNOWN AS STEAMER TRACKS.

AS TITANIC STEAMS WEST,

OTHER SHIPS ARE ALREADY RADIOING WARNINGS OF ICE AHEAD.

CAPTAIN SMITH AND HIS OFFICERS ARE COUNTING ON LOOKOUTS

IN THE CROW'S NEST TO GIVE THEM UP TO 30 MINUTES' WARNING.

IN CLEAR WEATHER

FROM THEIR POSITION 90 FEET ABOVE THE WAVES,

THESE TWO CREWMEN CAN TYPICALLY SPOT AN ICEBERG

AS FAR AWAY AS THE HORIZON.

FOR NOW, THEY CAN SEE NOTHING AHEAD OF THEM.

TODAY, THE MOVEMENT OF ICE IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC

IS MONITORED IN NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT.

TIM MALTIN IS HERE TO FIND OUT HOW.

RUN BY THE U.S. COAST GUARD,

THE INTERNATIONAL ICE PATROL WAS SET UP

AS A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE OF THE TITANIC DISASTER

BY THE LEADING MARITIME POWERS OF THE DAY.

DURING ICE SEASON, GENERALLY FEBRUARY TILL JULY,

IT USES SATELLITE AND RADAR TECHNOLOGY

TO TRACK THE PROGRESS OF ICEBERGS HEADING SOUTH.

DON MURPHY IS CHIEF OCEANOGRAPHER.

Tim: SO, DON,

ARE ICEBERGS STILL DANGEROUS TO SHIPS NOWADAYS?

Don Murphy: ICEBERGS ARE DANGEROUS TO SHIPS

EVEN IN THE MODERN WORLD.

THE ICEBERGS IN THE WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC,

THE ONES THAT ENTER THE SHIPPING LANES,

COME PRIMARILY FROM THE WEST COAST OF GREENLAND...

AND THEN DOWN THE COAST,

AND EVENTUALLY ALONG THE COAST OF LABRADOR,

AND THEN TOWARDS THE SHIPPING LANES,

AND INTO THE AREA WHERE THEY BECOME A VERY SEVERE DANGER

TO THE NORTH ATLANTIC MARINER.

Narrator: THE FREEZING CURRENT THAT CARRIES THE ICEBERGS

IS CALLED THE LABRADOR.

ALTHOUGH NO ONE COULD KNOW IT AT THE TIME,

1912 IS SHAPING UP TO BE AN UNUSUALLY BAD ICE YEAR

AS TITANIC PREPARES TO CROSS

FROM THE WARM WATERS OF THE GULF STREAM

INTO THE FREEZING LABRADOR CURRENT.

Don: OVER 1,000 ICEBERGS ENTERED

THE NORTH ATLANTIC SHIPPING LANES DURING 1912.

THE AVERAGE IS A LOT LESS THAN THAT--

AROUND 500 A YEAR IS THE AVERAGE.

SO IT WAS A VERY SEVERE ICEBERG YEAR.

Narrator: TODAY, WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY TO WARN A SHIP

OF THE EXACT LOCATIONS OF ICEBERGS IN ITS PATH.

BUT IN 1912, SHIPS COULRELY ONLY

ON THE POWER OF HUMAN EYESIGHT.

APRIL 14th, 6:00 P.M.

FOUR DAYS SINCE TITANIC LEFT SOUTHAMPTON,

AND THREE DAYS SINCE SHE RECEIVED THE FIRST ICE WARNINGS.

ALTHOUGH NO ONE SUSPECTS IT,

TITANIC AND MOST OF THOSE ON BOARD

HAVE JUST HOURS TO LIVE.

BACK IN LONDON, TIM SEARCHES THE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS

TO BUILD AN ACCURATE PICTURE OF THE CONDITIONS THAT NIGHT.

Tim: FOR ME, THE FACTS ARE ABSOLUTELY KEY.

THERE ARE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF BOOKS ON THE TITANIC,

BUT THE ONLY ONES I'M INTERESTED IN

ARE ONES THAT WERE WRITTEN BY PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE,

OR ONES WHICH ARE THE TRANSCRIBED TESTIMONY

OF EYEWITNESSES.

Narrator: 16-YEAR-OLD JEAN HIPPACH IS STRUCK

BY HOW UNUSUAL THE NIGHT IS.

Jean Hippach: THE SEA WAS SO VERY STILL,

AND THE SKY, SO MANY STARS.

I NEVER SAW SO MANY IN MY WHOLE LIFE.

Narrator: SCIENTIST LAWRENCE BEESLEY

ALSO NOTICES THE REMARKABLE CLARITY.

Lawrence Beesley: EACH STAR SEEMED IN THE KEEN ATMOSPHERE

TO HAVE INCREASED ITS BRILLIANCE TENFOLD,

AND TO TWINKLE AND SPARKLE WITH A STACCATO FLASH

THAT MADE THE SKY SEEM NOTHING BUT A SETTING

MADE FOR THEM IN WHICH TO DISPLAY THEIR WONDER.

Narrator: THE CREW IS MORE CONCERNED

ABOUT THE PLUNGING TEMPERATURE.

CHARLES LIGHTOLLER IS THE SECOND OFFICER OF TITANIC.

Tim: LIGHTOLLER TALKS ABOUT IT DROPPING FOUR DEGREES

IN THE HALF AN HOUR THAT HE WAS HAVING HIS TEA,

AND THE CARPENTER THEN GOES

TO STOP THE FRESH WATER FREEZING UP,

AND YET THEY'D BEEN SUNBATHING ON THE DECK JUST BEFORE.

ALL OF THE SURVIVORS MENTION

HOW SUDDEN THE DROP IN TEMPERATURE WAS,

AND HOW EXTREME THE DROP IN TEMPERATURE WAS.

Beesley: IT WAS JUST A KEEN, BITTER, ICY, MOTIONLESS COLD

THAT CAME FROM NOWHERE, AND YET WAS THERE ALL THE TIME.

THE STILLNESS OF IT--

IF ONE CAN IMAGINE "COLD" BEING MOTIONLESS AND STILL--

WAS WHAT SEEMED NEW AND STRANGE.

Narrator: BEESLEY DESCRIBES THE NIGHT AS "STRANGE."

AND IT IS, EVEN TO THE MOST EXPERIENCED CREW.

YET, THERE IS NO CAUSE FOR ALARM.

THE CLARITY OF THE NIGHT, THE BRIGHT STARS--

ALL ARE PERFECT CONDITIONS FOR SPOTTING ICEBERGS.

Tim: WHAT CAUGHT THEM OUT THAT NIGHT?

WHAT SINGLE ELEMENT WAS THE REAL FUNDAMENTAL REASON

WHY THOSE EXPERIENCED SAILORS

RAMMED THIS BEAUTIFUL, LARGEST SHIP IN THE WORLD,

PERFECTLY BUILT OVER SEVERAL YEARS,

STRAIGHT INTO AN ICEBERG ON HER MAIDEN VOYAGE?

Narrator: IN LESS THAN SIX HOURS,

THIS IS THE FATE THAT AWAITS TITANIC.

SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 1912.

7:00 P.M.

CAPTAIN EDWARD SMITH HAS CROSSED THE ATLANTIC

MANY TIMES DURING ICE SEASON.

HE SEES NO REASON YET TO BE ALARMED.

TITANIC AUTHOR AND INVESTIGATOR TIM MALTIN

TRAVELS TO NEWFOUNDLAND

TO GET AS CLOSE TO THE SCENE OF THE CRIME AS HE CAN.

EVEN TODAY, THESE WATERS ARE TEEMING WITH DANGEROUS ICEBERGS.

THE LOCAL CAPTAINS HERE ARE EXPERTS.

THEY HAVE TO BE.

THEIR LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATING

AMONG ICY MONSTERS SOMETIMES 300 FEET TALL.

Captain: WITH A TRAINED EYE, YOU CAN SEE THE WHITECAPS FORMING.

HERE YOU SEE SOME AREAS OF CALM, AS WELL.

THIS IS THE LABRADOR CURRENT

THAT IS RUNNING RIGHT ALONG HERE.

Tim: IS THAT WHY THE ICE IS SO NEAR THE SHORE HERE?

Captain: EXACTLY.

IT'S THE DRIVING FORCE

THAT BRINGS THESE ICEBERGS HERE, REALLY.

SEVEN-EIGHTHS OF THE ICE IS UNDER WATER,

SO THE MAIN SAIL IS UNDER WATER, REALLY.

SO WHEN THAT CURRENT STRIKES THAT ICE UNDER WATER,

IT'S GOING TO HAVE A DRAMATIC EFFECT

ON THE MOVEMENT OF THESE ICEBERGS.

Narrator: TODAY, EVEN WITH MODERN TECHNOLOGY

AT THEIR DISPOSAL,

SAILORS ARE STILL VERY WARY OF THE DANGER

THAT CROSSING INTO THE ICY LABRADOR CURRENT CAN BRING...

ESPECIALLY ONCE NIGHT FALLS.

Captain: I CAN SEE IN THE NIGHTTIME, YOU KNOW,

HOW A CAPTAIN COULD BE CONFUSED OR MESMERIZED,

IS THE PROBABLY THE BEST WAY I WOULD DESCRIBE IT, REALLY,

BECAUSE YOUR EYE CAN ONLY FOCUS ON SO MUCH AT A TIME.

Tim: WHAT WOULD YOU FEEL LIKE IF WE WERE ON THIS BOAT,

AND INSTEAD OF COMING INTO PORT, LIKE WE ARE NOW,

WE WERE JUST IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ATLANTIC,

AND THERE WAS HUNDREDS OF ICEBERGS

THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT IN THE DARK.

WHAT WOULD YOU THINK ABOUT THAT?

Captain: I'D BE PRETTY NERVOUS, I MEAN,

AS WE'RE STANDING HERE NOW, I'M LOOKING AT THE WATER,

LOOKING FOR BERGY BITS.

AND I KNOW WHAT THE DAMAGE THAT THESE ICEBERGS CAN DO.

SO I WOULD BE QUITE FEARFUL, REALLY,

TO BE QUITE HONEST WITH YOU.

I'D MAKE SURE I'D HAVE A LOT OF EYES ON THE WATER...

[BOTH LAUGH]

...TRYING TO AVOID IT, THAT'S FOR SURE.

Narrator: APRIL 14, 8:30 P.M.

VISIBILITY IS GOOD AND THE HORIZON IS CLEAR.

NO ICEBERGS IN SIGHT.

TITANIC IS NOW STEAMING AT OVER 22 KNOTS,

ROUGHLY 25 MILES AN HOUR.

SHE IS ALMOST AT TOP SPEED.

Tim: ONE OF THE MOST COMMON EXPLANATIONS THAT PEOPLE GIVE

FOR THE CAUSE OF THE TITANIC DISASTER

IS THAT SHE WAS GOING TOO FAST.

AND YET, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE,

WHAT YOU SEE IS THAT CAPTAIN AFTER CAPTAIN TESTIFIES

TO HAVING EXPERIENCED IT TO BE TOTALLY SAFE

TO KEEP TO FULL SPEED IN ICE IN CLEAR WEATHER.

Narrator: ANOTHER LEGEND HAS IT

THAT CAPTAIN SMITH IS DRUNK ON DUTY.

BUT HE NEVER DRANK AT SEA.

HE'S IN COMMAND OF TITANIC BECAUSE HE'S CONSIDERED

ONE OF THE WHITE STAR'S FINEST CAPTAINS.

TITANIC IS THE FOURTH LARGE OCEAN LINER

HE'S TAKEN ON ITS MAIDEN VOYAGE.

Tim: THAT NIGHT, THE WEATHER WAS COMPLETELY CLEAR.

SO CAPTAIN SMITH WAS DOING ONLY

WHAT ALL THE OTHER CAPTAINS WOULD HAVE BEEN DOING,

WHICH IS KEEPING A SHARP LOOKOUT.

Narrator: THE ENTIRE SAFETY OF TITANIC

NOW DEPENDS ON THE SHARP EYES OF THE LOOKOUTS ALOFT,

FREDERICK FLEET AND REGINALD LEE.

Tim: ANOTHER THING THAT'S BEEN BLAMED FOR THE TITANIC DISASTER

IS THAT THE LOOKOUTS DIDN'T HAVE BINOCULARS.

AND IT IS TRUE THAT BINOCULARS

WERE SCHEDULED TO BE IN THE CROW'S NEST,

BUT THEY WEREN'T IN IT FOR THAT JOURNEY.

HOWEVER, HAVING READ ALL OF THE INQUIRIES

AND LISTENING TO TESTIMONY

FROM THE CAPTAINS OF ALL THE MAJOR TRANSATLANTIC LINERS,

WHAT I KNOW IS THAT THE BEST WAY OF SPOTTING ICE AT NIGHT

IS WITH THE NAKED EYE.

BINOCULARS ARE, IN FACT, FOR INSPECTION OF AN OBJECT

AND NOT FOR DETECTION OF AN OBJECT.

AND THE LAST THING THE OFFICER ON THE TITANIC WANTED

WAS THE LOOKOUTS MESSING AROUND WITH BINOCULARS

TRYING TO VERIFY WHAT THEY WERE SEEING.

Narrator: ON TITANIC, A LOOKOUT'S SOLE JOB

IS SEARCHING FOR POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS OBJECTS

IN THE SHIP'S PATH.

IN GOOD VISIBILITY,

THE NAKED EYE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SPOT AN ICEBERG

UP TO 12 MILES AWAY AND GIVE THE BRIDGE A 30-MINUTE WARNING

WHEN TRAVELING AT FULL SPEED.

Tim: WHAT THEY WANTED WAS

A QUICK THREE SHARP RINGS OF THE BELL,

WHICH MEANS AN OBJECT DEAD AHEAD.

Narrator: IT'S NOW 9:00 P.M.

FOR SOME OF TITANIC'S PASSENGERS,

THE NIGHT IS STILL YOUNG.

FOR OTHERS, LIKE SCHOOL TEACHER LAWRENCE BEESLEY,

IT'S TIME TO TURN IN.

HE'S IN HIS CABIN ON D DECK,

RETURNED FROM THE SECOND-CLASS READING ROOM.

Beesley: THE QUIETNESS OF THE NIGHT WAS BROKEN

ONLY BY THE MUFFLED SOUNDS

THAT CAME TO ME THROUGH THE VENTILATORS

OF STEWARDS TALKING AND MOVING ALONG THE CORRIDORS.

NEARLY ALL OF THE PASSENGERS WERE IN THEIR CABINS,

SOME ASLEEP IN BED, OTHERS UNDRESSING,

AND OTHERS ONLY JUST DOWN FROM THE SMOKING ROOM

AND STILL DISCUSSING MANY THINGS.

Narrator: UP ON THE BRIDGE,

THE NIGHT WATCH IS ABOUT TO STEP UP THEIR VIGILANCE A NOTCH.

[MORSE CODE BEEPING]

THE CALIFORNIAN, A SMALLER, 450-FOOT STEAMER,

HAS PASSED THREE LARGE ICEBERGS

AND RADIOED A WARNING TO ALL SHIPS.

TITANIC ACKNOWLEDGES THE MESSAGE.

AT ABOUT 10:30 P.M.,

THE CALIFORNIAN FINDS HERSELF BLOCKED BY A HUGE ICE BARRIER,

ALMOST 30 MILES LONG AND THREE MILES WIDE.

THE CALIFORNIAN IS CAPTAINED BY STANLEY LORD.

HE'S ONE OF THE YOUNGEST AND BEST CAPTAINS

ON THE NORTH ATLANTIC,

AND HE'S ABOUT TO BEGIN THE WORST NIGHT OF HIS LIFE.

AS SOON AS HE STOPS AT THE ICE BARRIER,

HE NOTICES WHAT LOOKS LIKE A SHIP APPROACHING.

Stanley Lord: WHEN I CAME OFF THE BRIDGE AT HALF PAST 10:00,

I POINTED OUT TO THE OFFICER

THAT I THOUGHT I SAW A LIGHT COMING ALONG.

HE SAID HE THOUGHT IT WAS A STAR,

AND I SAID "THERE IS A STEAMER PASSING.

LET US GO TO THE WIRELESS AND SEE WHAT THE NEWS IS."

BUT I MET THE OPERATOR COMING,

AND I SAID, "DO YOU KNOW OF ANYTHING AROUND?"

HE SAID, "ONLY THE TITANIC."

AND I SAID, "TO ME, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THE TITANIC,

THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT."

Narrator: LORD IS CONVINCED HE'S LOOKING AT AN OLDER STEAMER

WHICH HAS NO RADIO.

[MORSE CODE BEEPING]

HE TELLS HIS RADIO OPERATOR TO PUT IN ANOTHER CALL TO TITANIC,

WHICH MUST BE ELSEWHERE.

BUT ON THE TITANIC, THE OPERATOR IS UNDER PRESSURE.

THE SHIP HAS JUST MOVED WITHIN RANGE

TO SEND TELEGRAMS TO THE UNITED STATES,

AND THERE'S A HUGE BACKLOG OF MESSAGES.

IN ORDER TO HEAR THE DISTANT SIGNAL,

JACK PHILLIPS HAS TURNED HIS HEADPHONES UP TO FULL VOLUME.

AT 10:55, THE CALIFORNIAN'S RADIO OPERATOR, CYRIL EVANS,

TYPES OUT CAPTAIN LORD'S NEW ICE WARNING.

BUT FOR SOME REASON, HE BEGINS THE MESSAGE

AS IF IT'S AN INFORMAL CHAT BETWEEN RADIO OPERATORS.

AND HE HAS NO IDEA HOW CLOSE TITANIC IS.

HIS EARS RINGING, TITANIC'S PHILLIPS HAS NO PATIENCE

FOR WHAT SOUNDS LIKE CHITCHAT.

EVANS DOESN'T TRY TO REPEAT THE WARNING.

HE'S THE ONLY RADIO OPERATOR ON THE CALIFORNIAN,

AND SOON HIS 16-HOUR SHIFT IS UP.

TITANIC IS NOW CUT OFF FROM THE NEAREST SHIP,

PERHAPS JUST 10 MILES AWAY.

WITH HIS HASTY BRUSH-OFF,

RADIO OPERATOR JACK PHILLIPS HAS JUST PLACED HIS SHIP

IN DIRE JEOPARDY.

IN HIS MIND, AUTHOR TIM MALTIN HAS REPLAYED THIS MOMENT

COUNTLESS TIMES.

BUT STILL, THE LOGIC OF IT ESCAPES HIM.

SUNDAY, APRIL 14th, 11:30 P.M.

DAY FIVE OF TITANIC'S MAIDEN VOYAGE.

THE WORLD'S LARGEST SHIP IS STEAMING THROUGH

A MASSIVE ICE FIELD IN THE DARKNESS,

CONFIDENT HER LOOKOUTS CAN PROVIDE

AT LEAST 30 MINUTES' WARNING OF ANY DANGER.

10 MINUTES LATER, THAT CONFIDENCE PROVES FATAL.

Reginald Lee: ICE AHEAD!

[BELL RINGS]

Frederick Fleet: ICE AHEAD, ICE AHEAD.

Narrator: THE ICEBERG ISN'T 30 MINUTES AWAY...

MORE LIKE 30 SECONDS.

[BELL RINGING, YELLING]

ON THE BRIDGE, THE CREW REACTS IMMEDIATELY.

THEY THROW THE ENGINES INTO REVERSE AND TURN THE WHEEL.

DESPITE ITS SIZE, THE TITANIC IS HIGHLY MANEUVERABLE.

Lee: HARD OVER STARBOARD.

Narrator: INSTEAD OF SLAMMING STRAIGHT INTO THE ICEBERG,

SHE MANAGES TO BEGIN TURNING AWAY...

BUT NOT FAST ENOUGH.

BELOW THE WATER LINE, THE ICE RIPS INTO HER HULL,

OPENING UP A 300-FOOT SEAM IN THE ONE-INCH STEEL PLATES.

ONE SOURCE OF THE MYTH THAT TITANIC WAS POORLY BUILT

STEMS FROM THE MASSIVE DAMAGE SHE SUSTAINS

IN A MATTER OF SECONDS.

Tim: THE DAMAGE THAT WAS CAUSED BY THE ICEBERG TO TITANIC

WAS EQUAL TO A MILLION FOOT-TONS A SECOND,

AND THAT'S LIKE AN EXPLOSION.

AND BASICALLY, EVEN A MODERN BATTLESHIP WOULD HAVE BEEN SUNK

BY THAT SORT OF IMPACT.

Narrator: BUT THE SHIP IS SO LARGE,

MANY PASSENGERS HAVE LITTLE IDEA OF WHAT IS HAPPENING.

LAWRENCE BEESLEY IS ON DECK D NEAR THE CENTER OF THE SHIP.

Beesley: THERE CAME TO ME WHAT SEEMED NOTHING MORE

THAN AN EXTRA HEAVE OF THE ENGINES.

NOTHING ELSE-- NO SENSE OF SHOCK,

NO JAR THAT FELT LIKE ONE HEAVY BODY MEETING ANOTHER.

THE THOUGHT CAME TO ME THAT

THEY MUST STILL HAVE FURTHER INCREASED THE SPEED.

AND ALL THIS TIME, THE TITANIC WAS BEING CUT OPEN

BY THE ICEBERG AND WATER POURING IN HER SIDE.

AND YET NO EVIDENCE THAT WOULD INDICATE SUCH A DISASTER

HAD BEEN PRESENTED TO US.

Narrator: NEAR THE STERN,

QUARTERMASTER THOMAS ROWE IS UNAWARE THAT ANYTHING IS WRONG.

HE'S MESMERIZED BY THE NEW ELECTRIC LIGHTS,

AN IMPROVEMENT ON THE FLICKERING OIL LAMPS OF OLD.

THEY'RE SURROUNDED BY BIZARRE HALOES

CAUSED BY ICE CRYSTALS IN THE AIR.

ROWE CALLS THEM "WHISKERS ROUND THE LIGHTS."

Thomas Rowe: I GLANCED FORWARD.

A WINDJAMMER, SAILS SET,

SEEMED TO BE PASSING ON THE STARBOARD SIDE.

THEN I REALIZED IT WAS AN ICEBERG,

TOWERING PERHAPS 100 FEET ABOVE THE WATER.

THE NEXT INSTANT IT WAS GONE, DRIFTING ASTERN INTO THE DARK.

Narrator: 30 SECONDS AFTER IMPACT,

THE WATERTIGHT DOORS SEPARATING TITANIC'S MAIN COMPARTMENTS

ARE CLOSED.

BUT THEY CAN ONLY DELAY THE INEVITABLE.

THE SHIP TOUTED TO BE "UNSINKABLE"

IS NOW FATALLY WOUNDED.

Tim: I THINK MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE

THAT IT WAS PURELY P.R. AND ADVERTISING

ON BEHALF OF THE WHITE STAR LINE

THAT THEY CLAIMED THAT TITANIC WAS UNSINKABLE.

BUT, ACTUALLY, WHAT WE GET FROM READING ALL THE EVIDENCE

IS THAT HER BUILDER, THOMAS ANDREWS,

ACTUALLY BELIEVED SHE WAS UNSINKABLE,

AND EVEN CAPTAIN SMITH ON THE SUNDAY NIGHT

WAS EXPLAINING TO HIS DINNER GUESTS ON TITANIC

HOW SHE COULD BE CUT CROSSWISE INTO THREE PIECES,

AND EACH SEPARATE PIECE WOULD FLOAT.

Narrator: WITH 16 WATERTIGHT COMPARTMENTS,

TITANIC IS BUILT TO STAY AFLOAT

UNDER VIRTUALLY EVERY ACCIDENT SCENARIO.

THE WORST THE DESIGNERS COULD IMAGINE

WAS A COLLISION FLOODING TWO COMPARTMENTS.

EVEN IF HER FIRST FOUR HAD BEEN FLOODED,

SHE WOULD HAVE STAYED AFLOAT.

Tim: BUT WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT

WAS A FREAK SIDESWIPE DISASTER

WHICH TOOK OUT SIX WATERTIGHT COMPARTMENTS.

AND THAT KIND OF SIDESWIPE DISASTER

HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE OR SINCE

IN RECORDED MARITIME HISTORY.

Narrator: IRONICALLY, IF TITANIC HAD HIT THE ICEBERG HEAD-ON,

IT WOULD HAVE SURVIVED.

BUT THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE ICEBERG

WAS LITERALLY UNIMAGINABLE.

SIX MINUTES AFTER THE IMPACT,

THE EVER-OBSERVANT LAWRENCE BEESLEY REALIZES

THAT SOMETHING IS WRONG.

Beesley: AND SO WITH NO THOUGHT OF ANYTHING SERIOUS

HAVING HAPPENED TO THE SHIP,

I CONTINUED MY READING.

AND STILL THE MURMUR FROM THE STEWARDS

AND FROM ADJOINING CABINS, AND NO OTHER NOISE.

NO CRY IN THE NIGHT, NO ALARM GIVEN,

NO ONE AFRAID.

BUT IN A FEW MOMENTS,

I FELT THE DANCING MOTION AND VIBRATION CEASE SUDDENLY.

THE ENGINES,

THAT PART OF THE SHIP THAT DROVE US THROUGH THE SEA,

HAD STOPPED DEAD.

Narrator: BEESLEY MAKES HIS WAY TO THE UPPER DECKS

TO FIND OUT MORE.

DOWN BELOW, THE SHIP'S DESIGNER IS WORKING FEVERISHLY

TO ASSESS THE DAMAGE.

HE DELIVERS HIS TERRIBLE CALCULATION--

TITANIC HAS LESS THAN TWO HOURS TO LIVE.

[YELLING]

30 MINUTES AFTER IMPACT,

CAPTAIN SMITH GIVES ORDERS TO SEND OUT A RADIO DISTRESS SIGNAL

AND BEGIN LOADING THE LIFEBOATS WITH WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

MEANWHILE, COLONEL GRACIE HAS MADE HIS WAY

UP TO THE BOAT DECK,

WHERE SOMETHING ON THE HORIZON CATCHES HIS EYE.

Gracie: TO REASSURE THE LADIES

OF WHOM I HAD ASSUMED SPECIAL CHARGE,

I SHOWED THEM A BRIGHT, WHITE LIGHT

THAT I TOOK TO BE A SHIP ABOUT FIVE MILES OFF,

AND WHICH I FELT SURE WAS COMING TO OUR RESCUE.

Narrator: CAPTAIN SMITH ORDERS AN ATTEMPT

TO SIGNAL THE SAME DISTANT LIGHT.

Tim: WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE IS THAT,

WITHIN SIGHT OF THE SINKING TITANIC,

WAS A LIGHT OF ANOTHER VESSEL WHICH COULD CLEARLY BE SEEN

BY HUNDREDS OF HER PASSENGERS ON THE DECKS.

Gracie: BUT, INSTEAD OF GROWING BRIGHTER,

THE LIGHT GREW DIM AND LESS AND LESS AND DISTINCT,

AND PASSED AWAY ALTOGETHER.

Narrator: IT WILL BECOME KNOWN AS THE MYSTERY SHIP.

[YELLING]

TITANIC IS LEFT ALL ALONE.

A COMMON BELIEF IS THAT SHE SIMPLY DOESN'T HAVE

ENOUGH LIFEBOATS FOR ALL HER PASSENGERS AND CREW.

THE TRUTH IS MORE COMPLICATED.

Tim: IN 1912, THE BOARD OF TRADE

WAS TRYING TO MAKE SHIPS BECOME WATERTIGHT

AND BECOME LIFEBOATS IN THEMSELVES.

AND THE BOARD OF TRADE ACTUALLY REWARDED YOU

WITH HAVING TO CARRY LESS LIFEBOATS

IF YOUR SHIP WAS PROPERLY SUBDIVIDED.

THEY BELIEVED THAT THE BEST WAY TO SAVE LIFE AT SEA

WAS PREVENTING SHIPS FROM SINKING IN THE FIRST PLACE,

NOT HAVING DANGEROUS SHIPS WITH LOTS OF LIFEBOATS ON THEM.

[YELLING]

Narrator: OVER THE NEXT ONE AND A HALF HOURS,

18 LIFEBOATS AND RAFTS ARE LOWERED

DOWN THE SIDE OF TITANIC.

ONLY 700 PASSENGERS AND CREW EVENTUALLY BOARD THEM,

ALTHOUGH THERE'S ROOM FOR AT LEAST 400 MORE.

Tim: BECAUSE EVERYONE ON THE TITANIC,

INCLUDING THE PASSENGERS,

REALLY BELIEVED THAT SHE WAS UNSINKABLE,

THERE WAS A HUGE RELUCTANCE TO GET INTO THE LIFEBOATS,

BECAUSE THE TITANIC SEEMED TO BE A MUCH SAFER BET

ON A DARK NIGHT IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC

THAN A TINY, LITTLE ROWING BOAT.

AND IN FACT, THE FIRST TWO LIFEBOATS TO BE LAUNCHED

WERE FILLED EQUALLY WITH MEN AND WOMEN,

AND THIS IS BECAUSE NO WOMEN

WOULD GO INTO THE FIRST TWO LIFEBOATS

WITHOUT MEN BEING WITH THEM.

AND IT WAS ACTUALLY AN ACT OF HEROISM FOR MEN TO TAKE THE LEAD

AND GO IN WITH THEIR WIVES INTO THE LIFEBOATS.

Narrator: WITH NO MORE WOMEN AND CHILDREN TO FILL BOAT 13,

LAWRENCE BEESLEY IS ORDERED TO JUMP IN.

LOOKING UP, HE IS APPALLED BY WHAT HE SEES.

Beesley: AS THE OARSMEN PULLED SLOWLY AWAY,

WE ALL TURNED AND TOOK A LONG LOOK AT THE MIGHTY VESSEL

TOWERING HIGH ABOVE OUR MIDGET BOAT.

I KNOW IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY SIGHT

THAT I SHALL EVER BE CALLED UPON TO WITNESS.

Narrator: ON THE GIANT TITANIC,

MORE THAN 1,500 PEOPLE ARE LEFT STRANDED.

COLONEL GRACIE MANAGES TO MAKE HIS WAY TO THE REAR DECK.

Gracie: AHEAD OF US WAS A MASS OF HUMANITY,

TRAPPED AGAINST A RAILING UNABLE TO MOVE.

AS THE SHIP KEELED OVER FORWARD,

I BELIEVE THEIR BODIES WERE CAUGHT

IN THE ANGLES OF THE DECK, OR ENTANGLED IN THE ROPES,

AND SANK WITH THE SHIP.

[PEOPLE SCREAMING]

Narrator: AS TITANIC PLUNGES BENEATH THE SURFACE,

OVER 1,000 DESPERATE SOULS ARE STILL CLINGING TO HER STERN,

MANY OF THEM CREW AND THIRD-CLASS PASSENGERS.

COLONEL GRACIE IS ONE OF THEM.

Gracie: DOWN, DOWN, I WENT.

IT SEEMED A GREAT DISTANCE.

I HELD MY BREATH FOR WHAT SEEMED AN INTERMINABLE TIME

UNTIL I COULD SCARCELY STAND IT ANY LONGER.

AND IT WAS THEN

THE THOUGHT THAT THIS WAS MY LAST MOMENT

CAME UPON ME.

JUST WHEN I THOUGHT

THAT FOR LACK OF BREATH I WOULD HAVE TO GIVE IN,

I WAS GIVEN A SECOND WIND.

FINALLY I NOTICED BY THE INCREASE OF LIGHT

THAT I WAS DRAWING NEAR THE SURFACE.

NOW, THOUGH IT WAS NOT DAYLIGHT, THE CLEAR, STARLIT NIGHT

MADE A NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE IN THE DEGREE OF LIGHT

JUST BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE WATER.

[SCREAMING]

[GASPS, COUGHS]

Narrator: MIRACULOUSLY, GRACIE FINDS HIS WAY INTO A LIFEBOAT.

HUNDREDS OF OTHERS ARE NOT AS LUCKY.

THE SEA TEMPERATURE IS 28 DEGREES.

IF IT WERE FRESH WATER, IT'D BE ICE.

AS THEIR CORE BODY TEMPERATURE DROPS, HYPOTHERMIA SETS IN.

FIRST THE EXTREMITIES GO, THEN THE VITAL ORGANS SHUT DOWN.

EVEN THE FITTEST CAN ONLY SURVIVE

15 OR 20 MINUTES AT BEST.

SECOND OFFICER LIGHTOLLER,

WHO, LIKE GRACIE, SURVIVED A PLUNGE INTO THE SUBZERO WATERS,

DESCRIBED IT AS LIKE

"1,000 KNIVES BEING DRIVEN INTO ONE'S BODY."

16-YEAR-OLD JEAN HIPPACH WITNESSES THE HORROR

FROM LIFEBOAT FOUR.

Hippach: YOU CAN'T THINK WHAT IT FELT OUT THERE ALONE

BY OURSELVES IN THE ATLANTIC.

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY, WHEN YOU SEE A SHOOTING STAR,

SOMEONE IS DYING.

AND WE THOUGHT OF THAT,

FOR THERE WERE SO MANY DYING NOT FAR FROM US.

Narrator: THE SURVIVORS CAN ONLY THINK OF THE MYSTERY SHIP

WHOSE LIGHT THEY BRIEFLY SAW,

BUT WHICH FAILED TO COME TO THEIR RESCUE.

[CRYING]

Beesley: THE PITY OF IT!

SO NEAR, AND SO MANY PEOPLE WAITING FOR THE SHELTER

ITS DECKS COULD HAVE GIVEN SO EASILY.

IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE TO BELIEVE THAT THE CAPTAIN AND OFFICERS

KNEW OF OUR DISTRESS AND DELIBERATELY IGNORED IT.

Narrator: CAPTAIN LORD OF THE CALIFORNIAN

WOULD SPEND THE REST OF HIS DAYS FENDING OFF ACCUSATIONS

THAT HE ABANDONED TITANIC THAT NIGHT.

IN THE END, 1,496 PEOPLE DIE-- MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

THE IMPACT OF THE DISASTER REVERBERATES AROUND THE WORLD.

THE TITANIC--THE GREAT SYMBOL OF TECHNOLOGICAL PROWESS

FOR A GENERATION--HAS FAILED.

Tim: FROM HERE, JUST STRAIGHT DOWN THERE,

IS ACTUALLY CAPE RACE, WHICH WAS THE FIRST PLACE

WHICH RECEIVED THE DISTRESS SIGNAL FROM THE TITANIC.

IN NOVA SCOTIA, WHICH IS NOT FAR FROM HERE,

IN THE TOWN OF HALIFAX,

ALL OF THE BODIES RECOVERED FROM THE TITANIC WERE BROUGHT,

AND SADLY, THEY ONLY RECOVERED ABOUT 350 BODIES.

Narrator: AMONG THEM WAS THE AMERICAN MILLIONAIRE

JOHN JACOB ASTOR,

THE RICHEST PASSENGER ON BOARD TITANIC.

ALSO, PROBABLY ONE OF THE POOREST,

AN UNKNOWN TWO-YEAR-OLD BOY,

BURIED ALONG WITH 122 OTHERS IN HALIFAX'S FAIRVIEW CEMETERY.

EARLY MORNING, APRIL 15th.

THE SURVIVORS ARE PICKED UP BY THE STEAMER CARPATHIA.

OF THE OVER 2,000 PASSENGERS AND CREW WHO WERE ABOARD TITANIC,

JUST 712 ARE RESCUED AND TAKEN TO NEW YORK.

AS SOON AS THE SURVIVORS COME ASHORE,

THEY BEGIN TELLING THEIR GRIM TALE.

Tim: STRAIGHT AFTER THEY CAME OFF THE RESCUE SHIP,

LOTS AND LOTS OF SURVIVORS WERE INTERVIEWED

BY SENATOR SMITH IN AMERICA.

AND THIS IS THE EXACT TRANSCRIPTS

OF PRECISELY WHAT THEY SAID.

AND, NOT SATISFIED WITH THAT,

THE BRITISH THEN HAD THEIR OWN INQUIRY

INTO THE TITANIC DISASTER

WHERE, IN TOTAL, 50,000 QUESTIONS WERE ASKED

TO MORE THAN 150 IMPORTANT EYEWITNESSES.

Narrator: BOTH INQUIRIES MADE IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATIONS--

IN THE FUTURE, THERE WERE TO BE ENOUGH LIFEBOATS FOR ALL,

BETTER DESIGNED WATERTIGHT COMPARTMENTS,

BETTER RADIO COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN SHIPS,

AND BETTER LOOKOUT PROCEDURES,

INCLUDING AN END TO THE PRACTICE OF TRAVELING AT FULL SPEED

THROUGH WATERS WITH ICE.

BUT, IN THE END,

THEY COULD FIND NO CLEAR CAUSE FOR THE DISASTER...

LEAVING ROOM ONLY FOR THE THEORIES

TIM HAS SPENT DECADES DIGGING INTO.

WAS TITANIC TRAVELING TOO FAST?

WAS THE CAPTAIN DRUNK?

SHOULD THE LOOKOUTS HAVE HAD BINOCULARS?

OR WAS THE SHIP'S HULL TOO WEAK?

Tim: HAVING LOOKED AT ALL OF THESE THEORIES

OF WHAT MAY HAVE CAUSED THE TITANIC DISASTER,

YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THAT EACH ONE

FALLS APART ON CLOSE SCRUTINY.

SO WE'RE STILL LEFT WITH A QUESTION--

WHAT REALLY WAS THE UNDERLYING CAUSE

OF THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC?

Narrator: HAVING WORKED THROUGH TITANIC'S TIMELINE,

TIM BELIEVES HE CAN NOW SEE AN INTRIGUING PATTERN EMERGING

IN THE EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY

WHICH NO ONE ELSE HAS PICKED UP ON BEFORE.

Lord: IT WAS A MOST PECULIAR NIGHT.

Hippach: AND THE SKY, SO MANY STARS.

Beesley: AND TO TWINKLE AND SPARKLE WITH A STACCATO FLASH.

Gracie: THE CLEAR, STARLIT NIGHT MADE A NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE.

Fleet: THERE WAS A SLIGHT HAZE COMING.

Lord: COULD NOT DISTINGUISH WHERE THE SKY ENDED

AND THE WATER COMMENCED.

THERE WAS WHAT YOU CALL A SOFT HORIZON.

Narrator: FOR ONE PERSON, IT WAS CLEAR--

FOR ANOTHER, THERE WAS A SOFT HORIZON.

Tim: SO THAT LED ME TO ASK, WHY?

WHY WERE WITNESSES AT THE SAME CRIME SCENE

DESCRIBING THINGS SO DIFFERENTLY?

AND THAT LED ME TO LOOK AT THE SCIENCE

AND LOOK TO SEE IF ANYTHING ABOUT THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

IN WHICH TITANIC SANK WOULD GIVE US A CLUE

TO UNLOCK THE APPARENT INCONSISTENCIES

IN THE TESTIMONY.

Narrator: THAT PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT BEGINS WITH

THE LABRADOR CURRENT IN WHICH TITANIC SANK.

TIM HAS COME TO EXAMINE THE CONDITIONS

THE TITANIC VICTIMS ENDURED THAT NIGHT FOR HIMSELF.

Tim: OKAY. RIGHT.

SO WE'RE JUST GOING TO TAKE THE TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER,

BECAUSE IN 1912, EVERY FOUR HOURS

THEY USED TO TAKE THE TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER.

Man: OKAY.

Narrator: ONE OF THE KEY FACTS FROM THE EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY

IS THE SUDDEN DROP IN TEMPERATURE

AS THEY APPROACHED THE LABRADOR CURRENT.

Beesley: IT WAS JUST A KEEN, BITTER, ICY, MOTIONLESS COLD

THAT CAME FROM NOWHERE, AND YET WAS THERE ALL THE TIME.

Man: AHA, IT'S PRETTY FULL.

Tim: YEAH.

GIVEN THAT THE TEMPERATURE AND THE STILLNESS OF THE AIR

WAS SO UNUSUAL,

I WAS DETERMINED TO BUILD A COMPLETE PICTURE

OF THE THERMAL GEOGRAPHY AT TITANIC'S WRECK SITE.

IT'S DROPPING.

IT'S TAKING A BIT OF TIME FOR THE THERMOMETER TO RESPOND.

THAT IS REALLY, REALLY COLD WATER.

NO WONDER THEY DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE.

THEY ONLY SURVIVED FOR ABOUT 15 TO 20 MINUTES

BEFORE THEY WENT UNCONSCIOUS WITH THE COLD THAT NIGHT.

AND I CAN REALLY SEE WHY,

BECAUSE MY HAND IS GOING UNCONSCIOUS ALREADY.

AGH! THAT IS REALLY COLD.

YEAH, THAT WATER IS ONLY TWO DEGREES CENTIGRADE HERE.

AND THAT'S...

IT'S STILL WARMER THAN IT WAS THE NIGHT TITANIC SANK,

BUT THAT'S VERY COLD WATER.

AND IT'D BE INTERESTING TO GO A BIT FURTHER

OUTSIDE THE LABRADOR CURRENT,

AND SEE HOW WARM IT IS OVER THERE.

Narrator: LESS THAN A MILE AWAY,

HE GETS A VERY DIFFERENT READING.

Tim: HERE IT IS 60 FAHRENHEIT, SO IT'S MUCH WARMER HERE

THAN IT WAS WHEN WE WERE OVER THERE

IN THE LABRADOR CURRENT.

Narrator: COULD A DRAMATIC VARIATION IN WATER TEMPERATURE

SHED LIGHT ON THE OTHER STRANGE VISUAL PHENOMENA

REPORTED BY EYEWITNESSES?

THE MAGICAL AURAS SURROUNDING THE ELECTRIC LIGHTS,

THE FAILURE OF SIGNALING LAMPS.

Lord: I CALLED HER UP, AND GOT NO ANSWER.

Narrator: OR THIS...

Gracie: A THIN, LIGHT GRAY SMOKY VAPOR THAT HUNG LIKE A PALL

JUST A FEW FEET ABOVE THE SURFACE

OF THE BROAD EXPANSE OF SEA.

Narrator: THIS STRANGE PHENOMENON WAS OBSERVED

BY SURVIVORS AS THE SHIP WAS SINKING.

UNFORTUNATELY, NONE OF TITANIC'S LOGS

RECORDING AIR AND WATER TEMPERATURE HAVE SURVIVED.

BUT TIM IS UNDETERRED.

Tim: UNDERSTANDING THE SCIENCE BEHIND TITANIC'S WRECK SITE

IS ABSOLUTELY KEY TO UNLOCKING THE TESTIMONIES,

BECAUSE YOU CANNOT WEIGH THE EVIDENCE CORRECTLY

UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND THE ENVIRONMENT

IN WHICH THE EVIDENCE WAS GIVEN.

Narrator: AT LEAST ONE IMPORTANT FACT IS KNOWN.

ALTHOUGH IT HAD REMAINED A MYSTERY FOR OVER 70 YEARS,

IN 1985, TITANIC'S RESTING PLACE WAS FINALLY DISCOVERED.

HER BOW AND STERN LIE IN SEPARATE PIECES

TWO AND A HALF MILES DOWN ON THE OCEAN FLOOR.

THE COORDINATES OF THE WRECK SITE

PROVIDE TIM WITH THE CENTER OF HIS CRIME SCENE.

NOW HE NEEDS TO RECONSTRUCT THE EXACT CONDITIONS

ON THE NIGHT OF THE TRAGEDY, A CENTURY AGO.

BUT WITH NO SURVIVING SHIPS' LOGS,

THE QUESTION IS...

HOW?

Tim: SO I STARTED LOOKING EVERYWHERE ON THE INTERNET

FOR WHERE COULD I GET EVIDENCE?

I LOOKED AT, COULD I GET IT FROM BARRAGE BALLOONS?

COULD I GET IT FROM SHIPS' REPORTS?

WERE THESE SHIPS' REPORTS STILL EXISTING?

AND WHAT I DISCOVERED WAS THAT THERE IS STILL A PLACE

WHERE THEY KEEP THE RECORDS FROM 1912

OF THE AIR AND SEA TEMPERATURES.

Narrator: TIM MALTIN'S SEARCH

LEADS HIM TO ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA,

HOME TO A BRANCH OF NOAA,

THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION,

WHICH STORES THE WEATHER DATA SENT BY THOUSANDS OF SHIPS.

Tim: WHAT I'VE COME HERE TO GET IS DATA FROM 1912,

FROM THE POSITION WHERE TITANIC SANK,

TO ACTUALLY BUILD A MAP OF TITANIC'S CRASH SITE,

A BIT LIKE A SORT OF TITANIC CSI, IF YOU LIKE.

Narrator: SCOTT WOODRUFF IS THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

AT THE RESEARCH LABORATORY.

Tim: I'M CONVINCED THAT THE WEATHER HOLDS THE KEY

TO ACTUALLY WHAT CAUSED THE DISASTER THAT NIGHT.

SO WHAT WOULD BE GREAT IS IF WE COULD GO BACK IN TIME 100 YEARS

AND ACTUALLY LOOK AT WHAT THE SEA AND AIR TEMPERATURES

WERE DOING AT TITANIC'S WRECK SITE.

Scott Woodruff: WELL, LET'S TAKE A LOOK, TIM.

YEAH, HERE'S SOME DATA WE'VE PULLED UP FOR YOU.

Tim: WOW.

SO THESE ARE ALL SHIPS THAT WERE IN THE AREA?

Scott: THOSE SHIPS IN THE AREA. RIGHT.

Tim: WOW.

Narrator: BUT THE DATA ON THESE EARLY COMPUTER CARDS

IS NOT AS DETAILED AS TIM WOULD LIKE.

Scott: THE LIMITED WIDTH OF THESE

MEANS THAT THEY COULD ONLY SQUEEZE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF DATA

ONTO THE COMPUTER CARD,

AND THUS, LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE

ARE ONLY RECORDED TO A LIMITED PRECISION.

Tim: IS THERE ANY WAY THAT YOU CAN THINK OF

THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY GET HIGHER RESOLUTION DATA THAN THIS?

Scott: WELL, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK

FOR THE ORIGINAL METEOROLOGICAL FORMS

AND ORIGINAL LOGBOOKS OF THE SHIPS THAT WERE OUT THERE.

Narrator: THAT MEANS CONTACTING MARITIME ARCHIVES

IN A DOZEN COUNTRIES.

TITANIC WAS ON A BUSY SHIPPING LANE

ROUTINELY FREQUENTED BY VESSELS FROM ALL OVER EUROPE...

SOME OF THEM LIKELY CARRYING USEFUL WITNESSES.

TWO WEEKS LATER, TIM GETS A CALL

FROM THE GERMAN METEOROLOGICAL OFFICE IN HAMBURG.

THE DIRECTOR IS WOLFGANG GLOEDEN.

Wolfgang Gloeden: SO HERE WE ARE, GOING DOWN TO OUR ARCHIVE,

WHERE WE STORE ALL OUR JOURNALS FROM SAILING SHIPS,

AND FROM STEAMERS, AND IT BEGINS IN 1829.

Tim: YES. AND HOW MANY RECORDS DO YOU HAVE DOWN HERE?

Wolfgang: WE STORE ABOUT 37,000 JOURNALS IN THESE ARCHIVES.

Tim: WELL, I HAVE TO SAY THAT

I'M A BIT LIKE A KID IN A SWEETSHOP DOWN HERE,

BECAUSE THESE ARE THE HOLY GRAIL OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR.

WE'VE BEEN TRACKING DOWN THIS DATA ALL OVER THE WORLD,

AND IT'S ONLY BECAUSE

THE GERMANS HAVE KEPT SUCH GOOD RECORDS,

AND BECAUSE THEY'VE KEPT THEM DOWN HERE IN THIS BUNKER,

THAT THEY'VE ACTUALLY SURVIVED TWO WORLD WARS,

AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY AVAILABLE FOR US TO ACCESS THEM.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IS SHIPS FROM 41 TO 43 NORTH,

AND FROM 49 TO 51 WEST, ALL IN APRIL 1912.

Narrator: SOME OF THESE LOGS, A CENTURY OLD,

HAVEN'T BEEN OPENED SINCE THEIR CAPTAINS WROTE THEIR REPORTS.

THE FIRST ONE IS FROM THE SS BREMEN.

IT SET OFF FOR AMERICA JUST FOUR DAYS AFTER THE TITANIC DISASTER.

Wolfgang: ON 4/30 THEY ARE PASSING DRIFTING WRECK PIECES...

Tim: WOW, WRECKAGE, YEAH.

Wolfgang: ...AND "VIELE LEICHEN."

AND THAT IS THE REASON BECAUSE

THESE CROSSES ARE WRITTEN DOWN HERE.

Tim: WHAT DOES "VIELE LEICHEN" MEAN?

Wolfgang: "VIELE LEICHEN" IS A LOT OF DEAD BODIES.

Tim: WOW!

SO THEY'RE ACTUALLY PASSING TITANIC'S WRECK SITE.

Wolfgang: MUST BE.

Narrator: A PASSENGER, MRS. JOHANNA STUNKE,

LATER DESCRIBED THE SCENE FROM THE BREMEN.

Johanna Stunke: LOOKING DOWN OVER THE RAIL,

WE DISTINCTLY SAW A NUMBER OF BODIES SO CLEARLY

THAT WE COULD MAKE OUT WHAT THEY WERE WEARING,

AND WHETHER THEY WERE MEN OR WOMEN.

WE SAW ONE WOMAN IN HER NIGHTDRESS

WITH A BABY CLASPED TO HER BREAST.

THE BODIES OF THREE MEN IN A GROUP,

ALL CLINGING TO ONE STEAMSHIP CHAIR, FLOATED NEARBY,

CLINGING TOGETHER,

AS THOUGH IN A LAST DESPERATE STRUGGLE FOR LIFE.

Narrator: SURROUNDED BY THIS WEALTH OF NEW EVIDENCE

ABOUT THE DISASTER, TIM SEARCHES DEEPER.

Tim: AND I'M WONDERING IF YOU'VE GOT THINGS LIKE THE PAULA,

AND THE TRAUTENFELS AND THE DEUTSCHLAND.

Wolfgang: HERE WE ARE.

IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFICULT,

BECAUSE IT'S IN OLD GERMAN HANDWRITING,

AND I'M NOT SO EASILY USED TO IT,

BUT I CAN TRY TO.

SAY BIG ICEBERGS ON THIS POSITION.

Tim: OKAY, AND WHICH POSITION IS THIS ONE?

Wolfgang: THE NOON POSITION IS ON 41, 58 NORTH AND 49, 36 WEST.

Tim: THAT'S TITANIC'S LATITUDE. THAT'S TITANIC'S LONGITUDE.

SO SHE'S AT TITANIC'S WRECK SITE--THAT'S INCREDIBLE.

I BELIEVE THAT THE PAULA IS THE LAST SHIP

THAT WE HAVE RECORDS FROM

THAT WENT THROUGH WHERE TITANIC SANK.

WHAT DO THESE REMARKS HERE IN THE WATER TEMPERATURE SHOW US?

Wolfgang: TEMPERATURE IS GOING DOWN

FROM 12.8 TO 2.2, 1.1.

Tim: 1.1? WOW.

AND WHAT'S AMAZING HERE IS THAT

IT'S GOING FROM 12 DEGREES IN THE EVENING THE DAY BEFORE

RIGHT THE WAY DOWN TO MINUS 1.4.

SO IT'S ACTUALLY GONE TO BELOW FREEZING,

AND THEN IT JUMPS STRAIGHT BACK UP AGAIN TO 13 DEGREES.

Narrator: INTERESTINGLY, THESE LARGE TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS

AT THE VERY SPOT WHERE TITANIC SANK

ARE SIMILAR TO THE ONES TIM RECORDED IN HIS OWN SAMPLING.

IT'S BEGINNING TO GIVE HIM A CLEAR PICTURE

OF THE THERMAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE WRECK SITE A CENTURY AGO.

Tim: COULD YOU GIVE ME THESE TEMPERATURE READINGS,

AND I'LL PUT THEM INTO THE COMPUTER?

Narrator: LIKE A FORENSIC DETECTIVE,

TIM IS UNCOVERING A CLEAR PICTURE

OF HOW THE KILLER LABRADOR CURRENT IS MOVING SOUTH

TOWARD THE PATH OF THE SHIPPING LANES IN TITANIC'S FINAL HOURS.

Tim: THE MORE THAT I LOOKED INTO THE DETAIL

OF THE TEMPERATURES AT TITANIC WRECK SITE,

AND THE BETTER RESOLUTION I GOT BY THE CLEARER AND CLEARER DATA,

WHAT I COULD SEE WAS THAT NOT ONLY DID TITANIC SINK

REALLY, REALLY CLOSE TO THE BARRIER

BETWEEN THE WARM WATER AND THE COLD WATER,

BUT THAT THAT BOUNDARY WAS VERY CLEARLY DEFINED.

Narrator: THE QUESTION NOW IS,

AS TITANIC IS ENCOUNTERING THE LABRADOR CURRENT,

WHAT EFFECT IS THE WALL OF FRIGID AIR ABOVE IT CAUSING?

WE KNOW THAT THE PASSENGERS FELT IT.

DID IT CAUSE THE LOOKOUTS TO TEMPORARILY LEAVE THEIR POSTS

IN SEARCH OF WARMER CLOTHES?

THE RECORD SAYS NO.

COULD IT HAVE EVEN PUSHED THE ICEBERG FASTER TOWARD TITANIC?

AGAIN, UNLIKELY.

BUT TIM IS GROWING INCREASINGLY CONVINCED

THAT THE REAL CULPRIT IN THE CRIME

WAS NOT THE ICEBERG ITSELF, BUT THIS SUDDEN WALL OF COLD AIR

ACCOMPANYING THE KILLER CURRENT.

Lord: IT WAS A MOST PECULIAR NIGHT.

Gracie: THE CLEAR, STARLIT NIGHT...

Lord: COULD NOT DISTINGUISH WHERE THE SKY ENDED.

Narrator: THIS WEATHER PHENOMENON MUST HAVE HAD SOMETHING TO DO

WITH ALL THE CONFLICTING VISUAL IMPRESSIONS

REPORTED THAT NIGHT.

Hippach: AND THE SKY, SO MANY STARS.

Fleet: THERE WAS A SLIGHT HAZE COMING.

Narrator: AS TIM CONTINUES HIS JOURNEY TO GATHER EVIDENCE,

HE RECALLS THAT ONE OF THE SURVIVORS SHARED HIS BELIEF

THAT FORENSIC SCIENCE COULD ULTIMATELY PROVIDE AN ANSWER

TO WHY TITANIC SANK...

SECOND-CLASS PASSENGER AND SCIENCE TEACHER

LAWRENCE BEESLEY.

Tim: AND BEESLEY LEAVES US WITH THIS TANTALIZING LINE.

HE SAYS, "I KNOW THERE MUST BE SOME MISSING EVIDENCE,

BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS,

AND WE'LL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL IT ARRIVES."

Narrator: TIM HOPES HE'LL FIND THAT MISSING PIECE OF EVIDENCE

AT HIS NEXT STOP--

THE BRITISH METEOROLOGICAL OFFICE

IN EXETER, SOUTHWEST ENGLAND.

HE'S HEARD IT CONTAINS ONE MORE UNIQUE SET OF LOGS.

PERHAPS THIS ONE WILL CRACK OPEN THE MYSTERY.

Tim: THE AMAZING THING IS THAT THERE ARE VERY, VERY FEW SHIPS

THAT WERE IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME.

AND, IN FACT, THIS IS THE ONLY LOG

IN THE WHOLE OF THE MET OFFICE

THAT IS IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME.

THIS IS THE LOG OF THE MARENGO.

SHE LEFT NEW YORK ON THE 11th OF APRIL, 1912.

40, 56...

THIS IS VERY, VERY NEAR TITANIC'S WRECK SITE

THE DAY TITANIC COLLIDED.

THE SEA TEMPERATURE IS DROPPING DRAMATICALLY.

AND LET'S SEE WHAT IT SAYS IN THE REMARKS SECTION.

GOSH, THIS IS AMAZING.

HERE, AT 8:00 O'CLOCK, IT SAYS, "MUCH REFRACTION,"

AND THEN AT NOON, "MUCH REFRACTION ON HORIZON."

AND THEN, "GREAT REFRACTION," AT 4:00 P.M.

AND AT MIDNIGHT SHE SAYS,

"MUCH REFRACTION, STARS VERY CLEAR AND BRIGHT."

AND THAT'S WHAT THE SURVIVORS NOTICED,

IS HOW CLEAR AND BRIGHT THE STARS WERE.

Hippach: THE SEA WAS SO VERY STILL,

AND THE SKY, SO MANY STARS.

Beesley: AND TO TWINKLE AND SPARKLE WITH A STACCATO FLASH

THAT MADE THE SKY SEEM NOTHING BUT A SETTING

MADE FOR THEM IN WHICH TO DISPLAY THEIR WONDER.

Narrator: UNTIL NOW, TIM HAS BEEN FINDING DATA

CONFIRMING A MASSIVE DROP IN TEMPERATURE

AS TITANIC ENTERED THE KILLING ZONE.

BUT THIS LOG INDICATES SOMETHING FAR MORE SIGNIFICANT.

THE PASSENGERS AND CREW WEREN'T JUST SUDDENLY GETTING COLDER.

THE VERY ATMOSPHERE WAS BEGINNING TO PLAY TRICKS

ON THEIR EYES.

WHEN MARINERS RECORD "REFRACTION" IN THEIR LOGS,

THEY'RE DESCRIBING STRANGE OPTICAL EFFECTS

AND DISTORTIONS IN THE AIR.

WHAT DIFFERENCE COULD SUCH VISUAL PHENOMENA HAVE MADE

IN THE MINUTES BEFORE TITANIC HIT THE ICEBERG?

TIM IS THE FIRST PERSON TO HAVE UNCOVERED

THESE STRANGE OPTICAL EFFECTS AT THE CRIME SCENE

AND AT THE EXACT TIME IT OCCURRED.

NOW HE SCOURS THE OTHER ARCHIVES TO CONFIRM HIS BREAKTHROUGH.

Wolfgang: YES, THIS IS THE WORD "LUFTSPEIGELUNG."

Tim: AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT DOES "LUFTSPIEGELUNG" MEAN?

Wolfgang: "LUFT" IS AIR, AND "SPIEGEL" IS MIRROR,

AND ALTOGETHER IT'S AIR MIRROR.

Tim: LIKE A MIRAGE!

Wolfgang: YES.

Tim: THAT'S ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.

Wolfgang: I THINK THIS IS WHAT THEY MEANT.

Narrator: A MIRAGE...

AT LAST, SOMETHING THAT MIGHT EXPLAIN

WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT.

Tim: CLEAR HORIZON WITH MIRAGE.

IN THE AFTERNOON.

CLEAR HORIZON WITH MIRAGE.

Narrator: WHEN PEOPLE THINK OF MIRAGES,

THEY THINK OF SEEING SOMETHING THAT ISN'T THERE.

BUT IN TITANIC'S CASE,

THE LOOKOUTS FAILED TO SEE SOMETHING

THAT CLEARLY WAS THERE.

SO HOW COULD A MIRAGE EXPLAIN A MISTAKE LIKE THAT?

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THESE VISUAL PHENOMENA,

TIM TRAVELS TO A PLACE THAT IS THE VERY OPPOSITE

OF TITANIC'S CRIME SCENE--

THE DESERT.

Tim: WELL, I'M OUT HERE IN THE DESERT,

BECAUSE WHEN YOU THINK OF MIRAGE, YOU THINK OF THE DESERT.

YOU THINK OF THIRSTY PEOPLE

TREKKING THOUSANDS OF MILES ACROSS THE DESERT,

TRYING TO FILL UP THEIR WATER BOTTLES.

AND THEY CAN SEE A SHIMMERING...

WHAT LOOKS LIKE A SHIMMERING LAKE OF WATER IN THE DISTANCE.

AND THEY WALK AND WALK AND WALK, BUT THEY NEVER GET THERE.

AND THAT'S THE CLASSIC MIRAGE.

Narrator: IN CALIFORNIA'S MOJAVE DESERT,

TIM HAS COME TO MEET A MAN WHO SPECIALIZES

IN CAPTURING EXTRAORDINARY VISUAL PHENOMENA.

AUTHOR AND PHOTOGRAPHER ED DARACK

CHASES MIRAGES ACROSS THE WORLD.

Ed Darack: THE WAY IT'LL START, LIKE IT DID TODAY,

IS I'LL BE DRIVING DOWN A ROAD,

I'LL NOTICE THAT THE CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT FOR A MIRAGE,

'CAUSE I'LL SEE THEM ON THE ROAD.

YOU'LL SEE THE TYPICAL SORT OF WATER MIRAGE,

WHERE IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S WATER,

BUT ONCE YOU GET UP TO IT, IT'S NOT.

Tim: AND WHAT CAUSES, YOU KNOW, THAT SORT OF SHIMMERING EFFECT?

WHAT CAUSES THAT?

Ed: MOST PEOPLE WHEN THEY LOOK THROUGH THE SKY,

THROUGH CLEAR AIR, THEY JUST THINK,

OH, IT'S CLEAR AIR, IT'S NOTHING THERE.

IT'S NOT THE CASE. IT'S A LENS.

AND HOW MUCH IT WILL DISTORT OR EFFECT

WHAT THE VIEWER SEES OF AN OBJECT

CAN VARY DEPENDING ON ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS.

Narrator: TO DEMONSTRATE HOW THAT LENS BENDS LIGHT WAVES

TO CREATE A MIRAGE, ED BRINGS IN A HELICOPTER.

Ed: OKAY, COME TOWARD US AT MAYBE 10 KNOTS,

AT FIVE FEET ATL, IF YOU CAN, OVER.

Narrator: JUST NOW, THE GROUND IS MUCH WARMER

THAN THE AIR ABOVE IT.

THIS CREATES A GRADIENT OF HOT TO COLD AIR,

AND SINCE COLD AIR IS DENSER OR HEAVIER THAN WARM AIR,

THE TWO AIR MASSES CREATE DISTINCT LAYERS.

THOSE LAYERS ACT LIKE A LENS

BENDING AND DISTORTING OUR FAMILIAR REALITY.

THE RESULT IS A CLASSIC MIRAGE

WHERE OBJECTS APPEAR BELOW THEIR ACTUAL POSITION.

Ed: THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SEQUENCES WITH MIRAGES.

YOU CAN SEE IT IN THE DISTANCE, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS,

IT LOOKS LIKE A SPACESHIP COMING AT YOU.

IT'S A BLACK BLOB.

AND THIS IS ON A HIGHWAY IN NEW MEXICO.

YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS AND SLOWLY IT EMERGES...

IT STILL LOOKS LIKE A SPACESHIP RIGHT THERE.

Tim: YEAH, IT'S FLOATING IN THE AIR.

Ed: IT'S FLOATING IN THE AIR.

IT SEEMS TO BE FLOATING IN THE AIR.

BUT THEN WHEN YOU GET UP HERE, YOU SEE IT,

IT'S A CAR WITH TWO TRUCKS BEHIND IT.

Tim: YEAH, THAT'S AMAZING, ISN'T IT?

THAT JUST SHOWS THAT YOUR EYES CAN DECEIVE YOU SO MUCH

WITH THIS SORT OF STUFF.

Ed: WELL, IT'S NOT YOUR EYES THAT ARE DECEIVING YOU.

YOUR EYES AREN'T DECEIVING ANYTHING.

WHAT IT IS, IS THE LENS OF THE AIR

BETWEEN THE OBJECT AND WHAT YOU'RE SEEING.

THAT'S THE DECEPTION.

Tim: HOW IS IT SIMILAR, THIS HOT DESERT,

TO THE COLD ENVIRONMENT OF THE TITANIC?

Ed: THE SIMILARITIES ARE THAT THERE ARE LAYERS OF AIR

THAT ARE VERY DIFFERENT IN AIR DENSITY

BECAUSE OF THE TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES.

Tim: THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.

BECAUSE, FOR EXAMPLE,

WHEN THEY WERE COLLECTING THE BODIES FROM THE TITANIC,

THEY ACTUALLY NOTED THAT

THE AIR CHANGED FROM 56 TO 32 IN HALF A MILE.

Ed: THAT'S A TREMENDOUS DIFFERENCE IN AIR TEMPERATURE.

SO YOU HAD VERY DIFFERENT MASSES OF AIR,

RIGHT NEXT TO ONE ANOTHER, ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER,

AND SO THAT WOULD REALLY DRAMATICALLY

BEND THE LIGHT RAYS.

Narrator: NOW EVERYTHING IS CLICKING INTO PLACE.

ED'S MIRAGE OBSERVATIONS CONFIRM THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DATA

TIM HAS GATHERED FROM EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY

AND SHIPS' LOGS.

THE CRUCIAL DIFFERENCE IS THAT HERE IN THE DESERT,

TIM HAS OBSERVED THE EFFECT OF COLD AIR ON TOP OF WARM.

FOR TITANIC SAILING 100 YEARS AGO,

THOSE CONDITIONS WERE REVERSED BUT EQUALLY DECEIVING.

AHEAD OF HER WAS THE WARM WATER OF THE GULF STREAM,

WARMING THE AIR ABOVE.

THE LABRADOR CURRENT BROUGHT FREEZING WATER

UNDERNEATH THE WARM AIR.

SOON, THE WARM AIR CLOSE TO THE SEA WAS REPLACED BY COLD.

COLD AIR UNDER WARM--

PERFECT CONDITIONS FOR A COLD WATER MIRAGE.

AT THE SPEED THEY WERE TRAVELING,

IN THE CLEAR CONDITIONS OF THAT NIGHT,

LOOKOUTS LEE AND FLEET SHOULD'VE BEEN ABLE TO SPOT AN ICEBERG

30 MINUTES AWAY--

PLENTY OF TIME TO WARN THE SHIP.

BUT ON THAT NIGHT, THEY HAD JUST 37 SECONDS.

Lee: ICE AHEAD!

[BELL RINGS]

Fleet: ICE AHEAD, ICE AHEAD.

Narrator: WAS IT POSSIBLE THAT A COLD WATER MIRAGE

HAD RENDERED THE ICEBERG EFFECTIVELY INVISIBLE

FOR ALMOST 30 MINUTES?

TIM RETURNS TO NEWFOUNDLAND TO FIND OUT.

Tim: HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ANY WEIRD EFFECTS OF LIGHT?

Captain: WHEN THE SEA CONDITIONS ARE QUITE COLD,

WE'LL GET A MIRAGE EECT,

YOU GET A SHIFTING IN THE OVERALL LOOK OF THE ICE.

SOMETIMES COMPARATIVELY VERY SMALL,

SOMETIMES IT CAN BE A MONSTROUS-LOOKING

TYPE OF ICEBERG.

YOU KNOW, A LOT OF OUR GUESTS ON BOARD,

THEY THINK IT'S A 300-FOOT-HIGH ICEBERG COMING THIS WAY,

AND, OF COURSE, WE EXPLAIN TO THEM

THAT IT'S PROBABLY A MIRAGE EFFECT.

AND WITHIN THE HOUR IN THE TOUR,

SURE ENOUGH, YOU'LL SEE IT'S ALMOST LIKE A FLAT PIECE OF ICE,

BECAUSE IT HAD SHIFTED THAT MUCH,

AND THEY CAN'T BELIEVE HOW IT HAD CHANGED.

Narrator: A 300-FOOT ICEBERG TRANSFORMED INTO A FLAT PIECE OF ICE

JUST BY THE POWER OF A MIRAGE.

Captain: WHAT'S INTERESTING, TOO, I THINK,

WHAT WE FIND, TOO, WHEN THE SEA IS CALM,

IT'S HARD TO KNOW WHERE THE SEA ENDS AND THE SKY ENDS, REALLY,

IT ALL SEEMS TO BLEND IN, SO YOU CAN IMAGINE A CALM NIGHT...

Tim: DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE JUST SAID THERE,

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT CAPTAIN LORD SAID.

HE SAID THAT THAT NIGHT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL

WHERE THE SKY ENDED AND WHERE THE SEA BEGAN.

Narrator: THIS FROM CAPTAIN LORD,

OBSERVING THE SAME PHENOMENON

FROM THE DECK OF THE CALIFORNIAN.

Lord: IT WAS A VERY STRANGE NIGHT.

IT WAS HARD TO DEFINE WHERE THE SKY ENDED

AND THE SEA COMMENCED.

THERE WAS WHAT YOU CALL A SOFT HORIZON.

Narrator: AND NOT ONLY LORD.

TITANIC LOOKOUT FREDERICK FLEET

ALSO DESCRIBED AN INDISTINCT HORIZON.

Fleet: WHEN THE HAZE CAME,

IT DID NOT STRETCH ACROSS THE HORIZON.

IT WAS RIGHT IN FRONT.

TWO POINTS ON EACH BOW.

I TOLD MY MATE LEE THERE WAS A SLIGHT HAZE COMING.

WHEN I NOTICED THE HAZE, THERE WAS NOTHING IN SIGHT.

Tim: AND NATURALLY, A LOT OF PEOPLE BLAMED HIM

FOR BEING ASLEEP OR WHATEVER.

NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.

HE WAS STRAINING HIS EYES TO SEE AHEAD.

AND WHEN THE COMMISSIONER WAS GRILLING HIM

AT THE BRITISH TITANIC INQUIRY,

HE SAID, "THERE WAS A SLIGHT HAZE ON THE HORIZON."

SO THE COMMISSIONER SAID, "WELL, YOU SHOULD HAVE SLOWED DOWN THEN

IF THERE WAS A HAZE, YOU SHOULD HAVE REPORTED IT."

AND HE SAID, "WELL, IT DIDN'T REALLY AFFECT OUR VIEW AHEAD."

AND THE COMMISSIONER GOES, "WELL, HOW CAN IT BE A HAZE

IF IT DIDN'T AFFECT YOUR VIEW AHEAD?"

Narrator: THE "HAZE" FLEET WAS DESCRIBING WAS IN FACT EVIDENCE

THAT TITANIC WAS HEADING DIRECTLY TOWARDS

A COLD WATER MIRAGE.

AND AS THE SHIPS' LOGS OF THE TIME PROVE,

CAPTAINS KNEW ABOUT REFRACTION.

SO HERE WAS ANOTHER ARGUMENT FOR THE NEED TO SLOW DOWN.

Tim: HAVE A LOOK AT THESE.

THESE WERE TAKEN IN FINLAND.

AND WHAT THEY SHOW IS A HORIZON THAT HAS JUST BEEN ELEVATED

WAY ABOVE WHERE IT SHOULD NORMALLY BE.

AND YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW CONFUSING THAT WOULD BE AT NIGHT

TO A SAILOR WHO DIDN'T KNOW THAT THAT WAS WHAT WAS GOING ON.

Narrator: IT'S THE REVERSE OF WHAT TIM SAW IN THE DESERT.

INSTEAD OF THE SKY BEING BENT DOWN TO APPEAR AS WATER,

HERE, A FLAT HORIZON IS LIFTED UP LIKE A CLIFF.

IN THE DAYTIME, IT'S EASY TO SEE.

THE ISLAND AND TREES ARE RAISED, SMEARED AND DISTORTED.

ON A MOONLIT NIGHT, IT CAN BE HARDER TO MAKE THINGS OUT.

ON THIS HORIZON, THE MIRAGE LIFTS UP A BAND OF WATER.

THAT'S THE MYSTERIOUS HAZE LOOKOUT FLEET SAW.

AND WITHIN IT LIES A POSSIBLE ANSWER

TO THE GREATEST MYSTERY OF TITANIC.

THERE WAS NO MOON THAT NIGHT.

THE ONLY WAY THE LOOKOUTS COULD SPOT THE ICEBERG

WAS AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF THE BLANKET OF STARS.

BUT WHEN THE LENS OF HOT AND COLD AIR CAUSES A MIRAGE,

IT DISTORTS THE SEA,

AND RAISES UP THE HORIZON BEHIND THE ICEBERG.

IT'S NOW CLOAKED.

THE BACKGROUND OF STARS DISAPPEARS.

THE ICEBERG BECOMES INVISIBLE.

THE BEST CREW OF ITS DAY, IN THE BEST SHIP.

Lee: ICE AHEAD!

[BELL RINGS]

Narrator: BUT AGAINST NATURE, ACTING IN THIS WAY,

IT HAD NO CHANCE.

IT'S A COMPELLING THEORY.

BUT IS THERE ANY MORE EVIDENCE TO BACK IT UP?

Tim: A COUPLE OF SURVIVORS GIVE VERY INTERESTING TESTIMONY

ABOUT SMOKE THAT NIGHT SEEMING TO HANG IN A FLAT, LEVEL PLANE.

THE FIRST PERSON WHO DOES THIS IS COLONEL ARCHIBALD GRACIE,

AND HE NOTICES IT JUST ABOVE THE WRECK SITE.

[SCREAMING]

Gracie: WHAT IMPRESSED ME

AT THE TIME MY EYES BEHELD THE HORRIBLE SCENE

WAS A THIN, LIGHT GRAY SMOKY VAPOR THAT HUNG LIKE A PALL

JUST A FEW FEET ABOVE THE SURFACE

OF THE BROAD EXPANSE OF SEA

THAT WAS COVERED WITH A MASS OF TANGLED WRECKAGE.

THAT IT WAS A TANGIBLE VAPOR,

NOT A PRODUCT OF IMAGINATION, I FEEL ASSURED.

Tim: BUT THEN, FROM MUCH FURTHER AWAY,

FIRST-CLASS PASSENGER PHILIP MOCK, IN HIS LIFEBOAT,

HE DESCRIBES THAT AS TITANIC SANK,

A COLUMN OF BLACK SMOKE ROSE HIGH INTO THE AIR

AND THEN FLATTENED OUT AT THE TOP LIKE A MUSHROOM.

Narrator: WHAT PHILIP MOCK DESCRIBES FROM HIS LIFEBOAT

IS HOW THE SMOKE FROM THE DOOMED SHIP

IS CLEARLY HITTING A JUNCTURE OF THE LAYERS OF COLD AND HOT AIR.

FINAL PROOF THAT THE CONDITIONS FOR A MIRAGE

EXISTED ABOVE TITANIC.

TIM'S MIRAGE THEORY HAS SOLVED THE FIRST MYSTERY--

WHY THE LOOKOUTS FAILED TO SEE THE INVISIBLE ICEBERG.

BUT CAN IT DO MORE?

CAN IT EXPLAIN THE SECOND MYSTERY THAT NIGHT?

WHY THE NEARBY SHIP, THE CALIFORNIAN,

DIDN'T COME TO TITANIC'S RESCUE,

AS COLONEL GRACIE AND MANY OTHER PASSENGERS PRAYED IT WOULD.

Gracie: I SHOWED THEM A BRIGHT, WHITE LIGHT

THAT I TOOK TO BE A SHIP ABOUT FIVE MILES OFF,

AND WHICH I FELT SURE WAS COMING TO OUR RESCUE.

Narrator: BUT WHEN THE CALIFORNIAN'S CAPTAIN,

STANLEY LORD, WAS BROUGHT BEFORE THE COURT OF INQUIRY,

HE CONTINUED TO INSIST THAT THE SHIP WITHIN SIGHT

WASN'T THE TITANIC.

Man: YOU HAD SEEN THIS SHIP FOR QUITE A LONG TIME?

Lord: THAT'S RIGHT, YES.

Man: AND IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT SORT OF SHIP WAS SHE?

Lord: SHE WAS SOMETHING LIKE OURSELVES--

A MODERATELY LARGE PASSENGER STEAMER,

BUT NOTHING LIKE THE TITANIC

OR ANY LARGE WHITE STAR OR CUNARD LINER.

SHE MIGHT HAVE HAD SOME PASSENGERS ABOARD,

BUT SHE WASN'T STEAMING LIKE A BIG SHIP.

Man: AND YOU COULDN'T, OR COULD YOU, HAVE BEEN MISTAKEN

ABOUT THE LARGEST SHIP IN THE WORLD?

Lord: I'M POSITIVE THAT

IT WASN'T THE LARGEST SHIP IN THE WORLD,

OR ANY LARGE PASSENGER STEAMER AT ALL.

I SAID, "TO ME, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THE TITANIC.

THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT."

IT WAS A MOST DECEIVING NIGHT.

THAT'S ALL I CAN SAY ABOUT THAT.

Narrator: LORD EVENTUALLY HANDED OVER THE WATCH,

CONFIDENT IN HIS JUDGMENT.

FOR THE NEXT SIX HOURS, HE SLEPT.

IN THE MORNING HE WAS TOLD THE AWFUL NEWS--TITANIC HAD SUNK.

AND THE CHANCE FOR THE CALIFORNIAN

TO RESCUE MOST, IF NOT ALL THE SURVIVORS, WAS GONE.

Tim: THE TRAGEDY WITH CAPTAIN LORD IS

THAT HE WAS ONE OF THE YOUNGEST CAPTAINS

ON THE NORTH ATLANTIC, BECAUSE HE WAS ONE OF THE ABLEST.

HOWEVER, THAT NIGHT,

HE WAS VERY MUCH IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME.

BUT BECAUSE OF THE ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS,

HE WASN'T AWARE OF WHAT HE WAS WATCHING.

Narrator: LORD ALWAYS MAINTAINED HIS INNOCENCE.

BUT WHAT EXACTLY WAS HE LOOKING AT?

IT IS, OF COURSE, IMPOSSIBLE TO ASK HIM.

BUT TODAY THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO TIM CAN GO TO AS WITNESSES--

THE SAILORS OF NEWFOUNDLAND WHO DAILY SEE SHIPS

NAVIGATING THE FREEZING WATERS OF THE LABRADOR CURRENT.

Man: THE MOST PRONOUNCED I'VE SEEN

IS A CRUISE SHIP LEAVING THIS PORT AT ONE TIME.

AND THIS CRUISE SHIP,

WHICH I FOUND OUT LATER WAS LEAVING THIS PORT,

WHICH I NORMALLY WOULDN'T SEE,

SHOWED UP HUGE FROM WHERE I WAS SEEING.

AND THEN, WITHIN 10 TO 15 SECONDS,

IT JUST SANK AND SANK AND ALMOST DISAPPEARED COMPLETELY,

AND ALL I COULD SEE WAS THE TOP OF THE SUPERSTRUCTURE.

AND IT SO ALARMED THE TWO OF US ON BOARD THE BOAT,

ON BOARD MY BOAT, THAT I CALLED THE CRUISE SHIP

AND ASKED IF THEY WERE FINE,

THEY WERE OKAY, THE SHIP WAS SINKING.

THEY SAID, "NO, NO, NO, NO, WE'RE FINE."

SO THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT EMBARRASSING

TO CALL THE CRUISE SHIP

THEN FIND OUT THAT IT WAS JUST AN OPTICAL ILLUSION

THAT I WAS LOOKING AT.

Narrator: NO ONE HAS EVER BEFORE MADE THE CONNECTION

BETWEEN COLD WATER MIRAGES,

COMMONLY SEEN IN THE RIGHT CONDITIONS,

AND THE EVIDENCE FROM THE TITANIC TRAGEDY.

BUT NOW, TIM IS USING THIS NEW RESEARCH TO HELP EXPLAIN

THE PREDICAMENT FACED BY STANLEY LORD THAT NIGHT.

Tim: IT'S REALLY HARD FOR US TO UNDERSTAND

HOW CAPTAIN LORD COULD MISTAKE THE BIGGEST SHIP IN THE WORLD

FOR A CARGO SHIP.

BUT LOOK AT THIS. LOOK AT THIS.

THIS LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE A CARGO SHIP.

AND YET THIS LOOKS LIKE AN OIL TANKER.

BUT, IN FACT, WHAT WE REALIZE IN THIS PHOTOGRAPH IS

IT'S A MIRAGE,

WHICH IS CAUSING AN OIL TANKER

TO LOOK EXACTLY LIKE A CARGO SHIP.

Narrator: IT'S A RARE PHENOMENON,

BUT IT HAS BEEN CAPTURED IN THIS VIDEO.

AMAZINGLY, THIS IS ONE AND THE SAME SHIP.

A SINGLE SHIP IS DISTORTED BY A COLD WEATHER MIRAGE.

SUPERIMPOSING A VIRTUAL IMAGE ABOVE IT.

THESE SHOTS WERE TAKEN OFF THE COAST OF FINLAND

IN BROAD DAYLIGHT.

AT NIGHT A CENTURY AGO, IT NOW SEEMS PERFECTLY CLEAR

CAPTAIN LORD COULD EASILY HAVE MISTAKEN TITANIC

FOR ANOTHER, VERY DIFFERENT VESSEL.

Tim: IT DOES ACTUALLY MAKE ME FEEL SORRY FOR CAPTAIN LORD,

KNOWING NOW WHAT I KNOW ABOUT THE SCIENCE OF THAT NIGHT.

WHEN HE IS APPARENTLY MAKING EXCUSES,

SAYING THE SHIP HE WAS LOOKING AT

DIDN'T LOOK ANYTHING LIKE THE TITANIC,

WHAT I NOW UNDERSTAND IS THAT HE WAS TELLING THE EXACT TRUTH.

AND, IN FACT, WHAT HE WAS LOOKING AT

DIDN'T LOOK ANYTHING LIKE THE TITANIC AT ALL.

Narrator: IN 1962, AGED 84,

CAPTAIN STANLEY LORD DIED STILL HAVING FAILED TO CLEAR HIS NAME.

HE WENT TO HIS GRAVE CARRYING THE ENTIRE BURDEN OF BLAME

FOR WHY CALIFORNIAN DIDN'T GO TO TITANIC'S AID.

BUT LORD WASN'T THE ONLY ONE DECEIVED THAT NIGHT

ON THE CALIFORNIAN.

THERE WERE OTHERS, AND ON THE TITANIC, TOO,

WHO MADE FATAL ERRORS OF JUDGMENT

BECAUSE OF OPTICAL ILLUSIONS.

REWINDING THE CLOCK...

IT'S A LITTLE AFTER MIDNIGHT, APRIL 15, 1912.

TITANIC IS SINKING AND CALLING OUT FOR HELP.

[MORSE CODE BEEPING]

ONLY 10 MILES AWAY ON THE CALIFORNIAN,

THE RADIO OPERATOR CYRIL EVANS IS ASLEEP.

BUT TITANIC WASN'T BEING COMPLETELY IGNORED.

APPRENTICE JAMES GIBSON WAS ON DUTY.

NOT YET QUALIFIED TO OPERATE THE RADIO,

HE DOES, HOWEVER, KNOW MORSE CODE.

James Gibson: IT BEING MY WATCH ON DECK AT 12:00,

I WENT ONTO THE BRIDGE ABOUT 15 MINUTES AFTER 12:00

AND SAW THAT THE SHIP HAD STOPPED

AND THAT SHE WAS SURROUNDED BY LIGHT FIELD ICE.

WHILE THE SECOND OFFICER AND I WERE HAVING A COFFEE,

AFTER A FEW MINUTES,

I ASKED HIM IF THERE WAS ANY SHIPS AROUND US.

HE SAID THERE WAS ONE ON THE STARBOARD BEAM.

SO, LOOKING OVER,

I COULD SEE, LIKE, THIS WHITE LIGHT FLICKERING,

WHICH I TOOK TO BE MORSE CALLING US UP.

I WENT OVER AND GAVE ONE LONG FLASH OF LIGHT BACK IN ANSWER,

BUT THE LIGHT CONTINUED TO FLICKER.

SO THEN I...WELL, I GAVE HER THE CALLING UP SIGN.

Narrator: BUT WHY DIDN'T TITANIC TAKE ADVANTAGE

OF THE CALIFORNIAN'S SIGNAL?

HOW DID THEY MISS THIS LAST CHANCE FOR RESCUE?

ON BOARD TITANIC, MANY OF THE PASSENGERS CATCH SIGHT

OF SOMETHING THAT STIRS THEIR HOPES OF ESCAPE.

Gracie: I SHOWED THEM A BRIGHT, WHITE LIGHT

THAT I TOOK TO BE A SHIP ABOUT FIVE MILES OFF,

AND WHICH I FELT SURE WAS COMING TO OUR RESCUE.

Narrator: FOURTH OFFICER JOSEPH BOXHALL

IS AT THE MORSE LAMP.

HIS TARGET IS THE MYSTERIOUS FLICKERING LIGHT

OF A DISTANT SHIP.

Joseph Boxhall: CAPTAIN SMITH WAS STANDING BY MY SIDE,

AND WE BOTH CAME TO THE CONCLUSION

THAT SHE WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE SIGNALED BY THE MORSE LAMP.

SO I SIGNALED TO HER.

I CALLED HER UP, AND GOT NO ANSWER.

THE CAPTAIN SAID, "TELL THEM TO COME AT ONCE,

WE ARE SINKING."

SO I SENT A SIGNAL OUT, "COME AT ONCE, WE ARE SINKING."

Tim: AT THE VERY MOMENT THAT BOXHALL HAD HIS BINOCULARS UP

TRYING TO READ THE MORSE SIGNALS FROM CALIFORNIAN,

SO GIBSON ON CALIFORNIAN

ALSO WAS LOOKING THROUGH HIS BINOCULARS

TRYING TO READ THE FLASHING LIGHT

THAT HE COULD SEE ON TITANIC.

AND THERE'S A SENSE THAT BOTH OF THEM KNEW

IT COULD HAVE BEEN CODE,

BUT BOTH OF THEM, ON INSPECTING IT,

DECIDED IT WAS JUST RANDOM FLASHES.

Gibson: THE LIGHT ON THE OTHER SHIP, HOWEVER,

REMAINED THE SAME.

SO THEN I LOOKED THROUGH THE BINOCULARS

AND FOUND THAT IT WAS THE MASTHEAD LIGHT FLICKERING.

Narrator: GIBSON THINKS THE RANDOM FLASHING LIGHT HE SEES

IS COMING FROM A FLICKERING OIL LAMP

ON THE MAST OF A SMALL STEAMER.

IT ISN'T THE STRICT DOTS AND DASHES OF MORSE--

JUST RANDOM NOISE.

BOXHALL ON THE TITANIC IS EQUALLY CONFUSED.

EVENTUALLY THE STRANGE, FLICKERING LIGHT

SPOTTED BY THE CALIFORNIAN DISAPPEARS.

IT IS TITANIC, SINKING TO THE OCEAN FLOOR.

TIM BEGAN HIS INVESTIGATION IN LAS VEGAS,

EXAMINING THE PIECE OF TITANIC'S HULL

DREDGED UP FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN.

AND IT'S HERE IN LAS VEGAS

THAT HE FINDS THE FINAL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE.

Tim: I HAVE SPENT YEARS WONDERING WHY THESE TWO SHIPS,

WHICH WERE TRYING TO MORSE EACH OTHER ALL NIGHT,

COULDN'T COMMUNICATE.

RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, IS THE ANSWER.

IT'S SIMPLY THAT THESE LIGHTS WHICH WE CAN SEE HERE,

WE KNOW THEY'RE CONSTANT,

BECAUSE THERE'S NO PROBLEMS WITH THE POWER SUPPLY IN VEGAS,

BUT WE CAN CLEARLY SEE THEM FLICKERING ON AND OFF

WITH A STACCATO FLASH.

AND THAT REMINDS ME OF WHAT BEESLEY WAS TALKING ABOUT

WHEN HE SAID, "THE STARS REALLY SEEMED TO BE ALIVE,

AND TO TALK THAT NIGHT."

AND HERE WE ARE, THESE LIGHTS SEEM TO BE ALIVE,

AND THEY ALMOST SEEM TO BE TALKING.

AND THE TRAGIC THING ABOUT THIS BEAUTIFUL SIGHT

IS IT'S EXACTLY THAT PHENOMENON, KNOWN AS SCINTILLATION,

WHICH SCRAMBLED TITANIC'S MORSE LAMP SIGNALS.

AND IT MEANT THAT THE NEARBY SHIP,

INSTEAD OF REALIZING IT WAS TITANIC

AND COMING STRAIGHT TO HER AID, NEVER, EVER CAME TO HER AID.

Narrator: LIKE A MIRAGE,

SCINTILLATION IS CAUSED BY LIGHT WAVES

TRAVELING THROUGH LAYERS OF WARM AND COLD AIR.

BUT HERE THEY'RE MOVING IN FRONT OF DISTANT POINTS OF LIGHT

WHICH RESPOND BY GROWING RAPIDLY BRIGHTER OR DIMMER...

EXACTLY AS THEY DID IN THE FREEZING NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN

A CENTURY AGO.

BUT ON THAT NIGHT,

THE SAME PHENOMENON RENDERED THE MORSE LAMP SIGNALS

BETWEEN THE TWO SHIPS UTTERLY MEANINGLESS.

ULTIMATELY, THE TRAGEDY OF THE TITANIC

WAS THE RESULT OF A SIMPLE TRICK OF THE LIGHT,

BEAUTIFUL, AND AT THE SAME TIME, LETHAL.

Hippach: SO MANY STARS.

NEVER SAW SO MANY IN MY WHOLE LIFE.

Gracie: THE CLEAR, STARLIT NIGHT MADE A NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE

IN THE DEGREE OF LIGHT JUST BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE WATER.

Narrator: FOR 100 YEARS,

PEOPLE HAVE WONDERED AND ARGUED OVER TITANIC...

A GREAT SYMBOL OF HUMAN INGENUITY,

YET STILL SOMEHOW A VICTIM OF HUMAN FALLIBILITY.

WITH THE UNUSUAL CONDITIONS THAT NIGHT,

THE LOOKOUTS AND CAPTAIN SHOULD HAVE SENSED

THE NEED TO SLOW DOWN.

AND THE RADIO OPERATORS ON BOTH THE TITANIC AND THE CALIFORNIAN

SHOWED FATAL LAPSES, TOO.

THE REAL CULPRITS, THOUGH, WERE FORCES BEYOND HUMAN CONTROL.

Tim: IT'S ALMOST AS THOUGH TITANIC SANK

IN A KILLING ZONE OF NATURE,

WHERE ALL THESE VERY DANGEROUS ELEMENTS COMBINED

TO MAKE IT FATAL.

Narrator: A SERIES OF FREAK PHENOMENA

CONVERGING AT A TIME AND A PLACE TO MAKE DISASTER INEVITABLE.

THE WORDS OF SURVIVORS

COMBINED WITH A MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION

HAVE AT LAST SOLVED THE GREAT MYSTERIES OF TITANIC.