Titan Sub Disaster: Netflix Documentary Reveals Safety Concerns and Design Flaws
A new Netflix documentary, Titan: The OceanGate Disaster, has shed light on the catastrophic implosion of the Titan submersible, which killed five passengers on a commercial voyage to the wreck of the Titanic in June 2023. The documentary, directed by Mark Monroe, reveals a culture of safety concerns and design flaws within OceanGate, the company that operated the submersible.
According to the documentary, the submersible’s implosion was virtually guaranteed by its design. "I’m convinced, based on the research and the discussions that I’ve had, that the submersible Titan could have imploded at any time," said Monroe in an interview with The Guardian. The film highlights the company’s decision to use carbon fiber, a lightweight but high-strength composite material, which had never been tested at extreme depths and had no reliable safety record.
The documentary features footage from OceanGate’s years-long test phase, which showed various carbon fiber designs failing in experiments simulating high pressure. Despite these concerns, OceanGate’s CEO, Stockton Rush, persisted in his plans to commercialize deep-sea travel. The film includes remarkable audio of a 2018 senior staff meeting in which Rush fires David Lochridge, the company’s operations director, and quashes his concerns as a discrepancy of vision.
Lochridge, who was highly experienced in submersible operations, had inspected Titan himself and expressed concerns about its safety. He was fired after submitting a written report to Rush, which led to a whistleblower complaint with the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha). However, the legal costs and Osha’s protracted investigation forced Lochridge to withdraw his complaint, ending what could have been the one regulatory oversight on the company.
The documentary paints a fuller picture of a company with idealistic ambition and plenty of scientific backing, but also a culture of prioritizing flashy ambition over safety. OceanGate attracted talent from the fields of engineering, diving, and marine exploration with its ambition to revolutionize deep-sea travel for the masses. However, the company’s decision to withhold its craft from third-party safety inspections, the industry standard for submersibles, proved to be a breaking point for several employees.
Rush claimed to be working with Boeing, Nasa, and the University of Washington, though no formal partnerships existed. In fact, a Boeing engineer involved in Titan’s early designs emailed Rush in March 2012, expressing concerns about the submersible’s safety. "We think you are at high risk of a significant failure at or before you reach 4,000 meters," the engineer wrote. "We do not think you have any safety margin."
The documentary raises questions about Rush’s motivations and decision-making process. "I don’t know what Stockton’s mindset was, but I think there’s a pressure that builds when you say you’re going to do something that’s never been done before," said Monroe. "I think there’s a danger in the kind of cult of personality, particularly the tech bro, ‘move fast and break things.’ When other people’s lives are in the balance, I think we should all take a step back and be careful about that."
The Titan sub disaster has raised concerns about the safety of commercial deep-sea travel and the need for regulatory oversight. The US Coast Guard’s official written report, including recommendations for the prevention of a similar tragedy, has yet to be publicly released. As The Guardian previously reported, the incident has sparked a renewed focus on the importance of safety protocols and regulations in the industry.
In conclusion, the Netflix documentary Titan: The OceanGate Disaster provides a detailed and disturbing account of the events leading up to the Titan submersible’s catastrophic implosion. The film highlights the need for greater transparency and regulatory oversight in the commercial deep-sea travel industry, and serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of prioritizing ambition over safety.
The documentary is a stark reminder of the importance of safety protocols and regulations in the industry. As Monroe noted, "There are certain rules that do apply, like the rules of physics, the rules of science – these rules do apply to all of us." The incident has sparked a renewed focus on the importance of safety protocols and regulations in the industry, and it is hoped that this documentary will serve as a catalyst for change.
Source: The Guardian – Titan sub disaster: Netflix documentary reveals safety concerns and design flaws
