A British man who was meant to join billionaire Hamish Harding on the missing Titanic submersible said he pulled out after being "less than convinced" by the vessel.
Chris Brown, 61, paid the deposit to join fellow Brit Hamish, 58, on the vessel, but was unsettled by the pilot controls which were "based on computer game-style controllers" and the quality of the technology and materials of the single windowed 22ft sub.
OceanGate Expeditions, which owns and operates the vessel, was taking five people, including company CEO Stockton Rush, French submersible pilot Paul-Henry Nargeolet and Harding, to the wreckage of the Titanic. British-based Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Sulaiman Dawood, 19, were also onboard.
The trip, which is thought to cost £195,000 per head, launched at 4am on Sunday, but communications disappeared one hour and 45 minutes into the two-hour descent to the Titanic wreck site - which sits about 3,800m (12,500ft) below sea level at the bottom of the ocean around 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland but in US waters.
Multi-millionaire digital marketing tycoon Chris was unnerved by the modified Logitech gaming controller to manoeuvre the sub and felt the firm were cutting corners.
Chris told The Sun: "I found out they used old scaffolding poles for the sub’s ballast — and its controls were based on computer game-style controllers.
"If you’re trying to build your own submarine you could probably use old scaffold poles. But this was a commercial craft.
"Eventually I emailed them and said, 'I’m no longer able to go on this thing'. I asked for a refund after being less than convinced."
It is thought that the last "ping" from the submersible to its mothership MV Polar Prince located them just above the shipwreck.
Shahzada Dawood is a board member of The King's charity - The Prince's Trust International - and a spokesperson for the monarch said he is to be "kept fully up to date on the situation".
The sub - named Titan - is believed to have just 40 to 41 hours before their oxygen runs out, the US Coast Guard has heartbreakingly revealed.
At a press conference on the traumatising case that has captivated the world, held at 6pm BST on Tuesday, Coast Guard chiefs gave the deadline, which would fall around 11am BST on Thursday.
Experts fear the OceanGate craft may never be found if it sits at the bottom of the Atlantic with a crew of five lost forever onboard.
If still alive, the crew of the missing Titanic sub will be facing a 'ticking clock' against the cold and oxygen supplies, an expert has warned.
A former submarine commander explained the perils the five missing explorers will be contending with if the sub is still intact.
Captain David Marquet told the Mirror: "The clock is ticking. The clock is ticking. The clock is ticking.
"It’s also very cold. If it’s on the bottom it’s in water that is less than freezing. They’re going to get really cold. The food and water they can probably survive for four days. But the oxygen and the cold I would be worried about."
