James Cameron’s Titanic is famous for being among the most popular and highest-grossing movies ever made, but many audiences might not know that director James Cameron actually has a very personal interest in the historical event. He’s always claimed to find the destruction of the Titanic just as fascinating as it was tragic, which inspired him to make the movie in the first place and explore the logistics of the crash on the big screen. His research was clearly valuable, as Titanic became an international hit.

During the filming process for the film, Cameron actually spent time visiting the Titanic's wreckage and trying to understand exactly what happened that night, so he could effectively recreate it on-screen. He estimates to have organized around 33 voyages to the ship’s wreckage (via Insider), and in that time, the director believes to have figured out a way that the tragedy actually could have been avoided. While not all historians and scientists agree with Cameron’s theory, he’s certainly drawn some compelling arguments from his interest and research.

James Cameron's Theory To Load engers Onto The Iceberg Explained

The director’s theory might sound bizarre at first, but Cameron believes that if the TItanic’s captain had made the decision to evacuate the travelers onto the iceberg itself, they may have survived long enough for rescue to come and save them. Speaking to a of experts for National Geographic (via YouTube), Cameron claimed: “My first favorite idea is to put everybody on the iceberg.” He goes on to argue that since the iceberg is the only thing that’s guaranteed not to sink, it’s the safest place for the residents of the ship to be awaiting help.

The director acknowledges that his theory isn’t completely safe, but he argues that it’s the most logical way to ensure those travelers aren’t forced into waters that will undoubtedly kill them overnight. He argues that access to the iceberg would be simple enough since the ship “just ran into it,” so the actual logistics of evacuating wouldn’t be too difficult. It’s obviously a flawed plan, but as all experts on the agree, there was no completely safe method of survival on that ship.

Why Titanic Experts Disagree With James Cameron's Iceberg Theory

Although Cameron’s theory seems to make sense on the surface, there are plenty of historians, scientists, and engineers that disagree with the idea. The first obvious criticism is that icebergs aren’t designed to hold 2,000 people at once since their “pretty irregular” form would be difficult to mount. Icebergs are also incredibly cold, and while Cameron believes that people could spend a night in a “fur coat” without freezing to death, the possibility still exists. If the waters surrounding the ship were cold enough to kill most of the travelers, the iceberg itself could be too.

James Cameron might have accurately recreated the ship’s destruction in his movie, gathering plenty of knowledge on the matter, but the experts still believe this theory is too risky to work. In the , one member also raises the problem of actually convincing the engers to mount the iceberg. They were notoriously hesitant to get in the lifeboats, so the chances of them evacuating the ship to sleep on a huge chunk of ice are much lower and the whole process could’ve lost the team precious time and caused even more deaths. While Cameron’s theory is based on a good knowledge of the disaster, there are still many holes.

Experts' Alternative Theories About How The Titanic Could Have Avoided Deaths After Crashing Explained

One popular theory posed by Titanic experts is the idea that the crew could’ve spent their time fashioning rafts using the foundations of the ship. The vessel was going down anyway, so many believe they should’ve broken the walls down and used them as rafts to avoid spending the night in the water. In the , Cameron disagrees with this theory, claiming that it “might’ve saved 150 people,” but not the whole ship.

Alternatively, the crew of the Titanic could’ve lowered the ship’s hundreds of mattresses down the side of the vessel, effectively plugging the areas where the known breaches were letting in water. This would’ve slowed down the sinking, and according to one expert, allowed the ship to “reach equilibrium and never go down.” It’s obviously much easier to suggest with the benefit of hindsight, but this seems to rank among the most popular theories, with even Cameron agreeing that there’s “some possibility that it might’ve worked.”

Sources: Insider, National Geographic/YouTube