The father and son who died on the Titan almost didn't make it in time due to flight problems, report says

• Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman were two of the five people on the Titan submersible.
• The family nearly missed the mothership's departure due to flight problems, per The New York Times.
• Shahzada's wife Christine told the Times she "obviously" wishes they had missed the trip.

Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman almost missed their trip on the Titan submersible after one flight was canceled and another was delayed.

Christine Dawood, Shahzada's wife, told The New York Times the family traveled to Toronto on June 14, four days before the mothership departed on its voyage.

A second flight to St. John's, Newfoundland, where OceanGate expeditions departed from, was canceled. Another flight the next day was delayed, leading the family to worry that they could miss their chance to see the Titanic.

"We were actually quite worried, like, oh my god, what if they cancel that flight as well?" Christine Dawood told the Times. "In hindsight, obviously, I wish they did."

The family eventually got to St. John's and boarded the Polar Prince, the ship used by OceanGate to take the Titan out to sea.

Members of the Dawood family have given conflicting stories about how Suleman, 19, ended up on the sub. Christine has said he took her place because he was really wanted to go, while her sister said Suleman was "terrified" but went to bond with his dad on Father's Day.

Christine and their daughter, Alina, stayed on the Polar Prince while Shahzada and Suleman traveled out to the platform where the Titan was waiting.

Christine was told it was normal for communication between the Titan and the ship to be spotty while it was underwater, but she grew more worried as the day went on and a crew member finally told her they no longer knew where the sub was.

In the weeks since the Titan's disappearance and the discovery of debris, emails obtained by Insider, old interviews and insights from former passengers, including journalists, have painted a picture of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush as someone who sometimes ignored warnings and concerns about the Titan's construction in favor of continuing to operate the expensive voyages to the depths of the ocean.

The sub's implosion is assumed to have killed all five people on board, including Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henry Nargeolet, a veteran diver who had visited the wreckage of the Titanic dozens of times.