Drunken Allegations
Some have blamed Captain Smith for the incident, suggesting that he wrongfully sped through the ice at full speed. However, he was posthumously exonerated since it was a common practice at the time.
There is at least one survivor who claimed in a letter that Captain Smith had been drinking directly before the incident. Her letter (pictured above), written aboard the rescue ship Carpathia, was sold in an auction in 2012.