'Passengers had to sign chilling death waiver’: 'Simpsons' writer recalls his Titanic trip

A man who visited the Titanic wreckage in the submersible Titan last year, which took uber-rich tourists for trips to Titanic ruins in the Atlantic before it went missing, disclosed that passengers were forced to sign a jarringly extensive waiver ahead of the expedition. ‘The Simpsons’ producer Mike Reiss, who went on board the same vessel last year, shared his experience, revealing the signing of a "death waiver." Ending the massive search operation, the Coast Guard on Thursday said it had located five major pieces of the Titan amid debris around the Titanic site, which it said was "consistent with catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber".

3 things you should know:

• Submersible Titan, which used to take uber-rich tourists for trips to Titanic ruins, went missing in the ocean.
• The passengers aboard Titan are believed to be dead.
• Mike Reiss, who went on board the same vessel last year, has made headlines sharing his experience of the expedition.

Where is Titan?

The submersible Titan, which started its expedition into the Atlantic Ocean Sunday, June 18, went missing after losing all contact. About one hour and 45 minutes after setting out for its journey on Sunday, the vessels lost communication with the support boat on the surface. OceanGate Expeditions, a private firm, carries out three annual voyages of Titan to the wreckage site.

On Thursday, OceanGate Expeditions issued a statement saying that the pilot of Titan, its chief executive Stockton Rush, along with passengers Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet "have sadly been lost."

Reportedly, the submersible’s limited 96-hour oxygen supply likely ended early Thursday.

What did Mike Reiss reveal?

The Simpsons producer, Mike Reiss, visited the Titanic wreckage in the submersible ‘Titan’ last year. He described his journey as "very comfortable", adding that he fell asleep during the voyage. However, the compass according to Reiss, was "acting very weird." He continued that the only information the squad had was that they were around 500 yards from their destination. "But we didn’t know where, and the compass stopped working," Reiss told the media. "We spent about 90 minutes just hunting around, trying to find the Titanic, but it’s just so dark down there."

Speaking of the waiver, he added, "Before you even get on the boat, there’s a long, long waiver that mentions death three times on page one."

"Death is always lurking, it’s always in the back of your mind," 63-year-old Reiss said while talking in an interview with New York Post.

Explaining the uncertainties during the voyage, he added, "That’s just the luck of the draw. That’s what you've got. And you’re at the mercy of weather, water, and technical problems."