James Cameron once had a near-death experience in a Titanic submersible, braving an underwater sandstorm with a Russian pilot

• James Cameron once had a near death experience on a Titanic sub with a Russian pilot.
• In 1995, while filming for "Titanic," an underwater sandstorm grounded Cameron's vessel.

"Titanic" director James Cameron once had a near-death experience on a submersible in 1995 while exploring the wreckage for his blockbuster movie about the shipwreck.

According to Radio Canada, Cameron shared the experience in a 2009 biography titled "The Futurist" by Rebecca Keegan. Cameron has made dozens of trips to visit the Titanic shipwreck, said that he almost lost his life during an underwater sandstorm — undercutting the consistent danger that the deep dives pose.

The "Avatar" director has been an outspoken figure after five people died while trying to reach the Titanic on OceanGate's Titan submersible.

Cameron, who has visited the Titanic wreckage on 33 different trips, said that he warned OceanGate officials about faulty vessels ahead of the trip, and that it was "only a matter of time" before disaster struck.

In 1995, Cameron was on his third submersible dive with Russian pilot Dr. Anatoly Sagalevich and a Russian engineer filing for "Titanic," when a sandstorm created by currents tailing from the Titanic's shipwreck grounded their vessel on the ocean floor, Radio Canada reported.

"Anatoly said, 'Oh, no,' something you never want to hear a pilot say, and we locked eyes for a second," Cameron said in the book, per Radio Canada.

With their battery losing power, and in frigid temperatures, Cameron said his crew attempted to abort the mission and travel back upwards twice, before being pushed back down by the deep sea currents.

On their third try after a half-hour of being stuck, he told Radio Canada they had been pushed far enough away from the sandstorm to safely make their way back up.