Louise Patten, writer/granddaughter of Titanic second officer Charles Lightoller, announced that the truth about what happened almost 100 years ago was hidden.
The fear was of soiling the reputation of her grandfather, who later became a war hero.
The Titanic hit an iceberg in 1912 because of a steering error, and sank as fast as it did when an official persuaded the captain to continue sailing, per Wednesday’s report.
The RMS Titanic was the world’s biggest passenger liner as it left Southampton, England, for New York on its maiden voyage in 1912- April 10. Lightoller, the most senior officer survived, covered up the error in two inquiries on both sides of the Atlantic. He worried it would bankrupt the liner’s owners, and his colleagues would be jobless.
“Instead of steering Titanic safely round to the left of the iceberg, once it had been spotted dead ahead, the steersman, Robert Hitchins, panicked and turned it the wrong way,” Patten shared with the Daily Telegraph.
“If Titanic had stood still, she would have survived at least until the rescue ship came and no one need have died,” Patten continued.
