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Title: 'Titan' Netflix Documentary Examines Events Leading To OceanGate's
Doomed Expedition

Link: https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/25/0...

Longtime Slashdot reader UnknowingFool writes: A new documentary released
last week on Netflix goes into detail about events leading up to the
destruction of OceanGate's submersible, Titan that imploded on June 18, 2023
while attempting to visit the wreckage of the RMS Titanic off the coast of
Newfoundland. The Titan used a carbon-fiber hull instead of more traditional
materials like steel or titanium. "Through exclusive access to whistleblower
testimony, pivotal audio recordings, and footage from the company's early
days, the film provides an unprecedented look at the technical challenges,
moral dilemmas, and shockingly poor decisions that culminated in the
catastrophic expedition," explains Netflix in an article. Some highlights: -
Titan's original carbon-fiber hull had been replaced with a second carbon-
fiber one after the first one developed noticeable cracks. - Three scale
models of the second hull failed tests. OceanGate decided to manufacture the
second hull regardless of these failures. - Loud pops were heard in many
dives; CEO Stockton Rush dismissed these as "seasoning". - Many employees
raised numerous safety concerns. They were fired like lead pilot and head of
marine operations, David Lochridge. Or they quit. - Some employees like Emily
Hammermeister wanted to quit earlier, but external conditions like the COVID
pandemic made it difficult. After the scale models failed, she refused to
bolt anyone in the future submersible. She was given the two options of being
fired or quit; she quit in the middle of the pandemic. - Rush's blindness to
inconvenient facts: After the crack was discovered, Rush questioned Director
of Engineering, Tony Nissen, about why Nissen did not anticipate the
possibility of a crack. Nissen: "I wrote you a report that showed you it was
there." Nissen had warned repeatedly that the hull's fibers were breaking
(the pops) with each dive. Rush: "Well, one of us has to go." - Poor
decisions by Rush extended beyond engineering decisions. After Rush fired
Lochridge for raising safety concerns , Rush wanted Bonnie Carl, the
company's accountant, to be his replacement pilot. While Carl was an
experienced scuba diver, she quit as she was extremely uncomfortable being a
pilot. Her explanation: "Are you nuts? I'm an accountant."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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