RMS Titanic was an accident.
RMS Titanic ( [ taɪˈtænɪk ] ) was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early morning of 15 April 1912 , after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City . Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard , more than 1,500 died , making it one of the deadliest commercial peacetime maritime disasters in modern history . The collision caused the ship 's hull plates to buckle inwards along her starboard ( right ) side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea ; she could only survive four flooding .