‘Titan: The OceanGate Disaster’ Netflix Documentary Tracks 10 Years of Warnings and Mistakes

This article contains major details from Netflix documentary ‘Titan: The OceanGate Disaster.’

A new Netflix documentary examines the fatal 2023 implosion of the Titan submersible, tracing a decade-long path of questionable engineering decisions, ignored warnings, and regulatory blind spots that ultimately led to the deaths of five people during a commercial dive to the Titanic wreck site.

Titan: The OceanGate Disaster focuses less on the chaotic search and rescue operation that gripped headlines last June, and more on the company’s troubled history. Produced by Story Syndicate and directed by Mark Monroe, the film relies on internal documents, whistleblower accounts, and previously unreleased footage to lay out how a bold idea to democratize deep-sea exploration unraveled.

OceanGate, the firm behind the Titan sub, was founded in 2009 by Stockton Rush (above). An aerospace enthusiast and self-styled innovator, Rush envisioned a future where submersible tourism was not only possible, but profitable. The key to this vision was a radical departure from traditional sub materials: carbon fiber, a material known for its light weight and high strength but untested at extreme ocean depths.

At first, OceanGate’s vision attracted engineers, adventurers, and oceanographers. But as Titan’s development continued, internal dissent mounted. David Lochridge, who joined as Director of Marine Operations, is featured prominently in the documentary. His unease grew as testing data revealed failures in the pressure chamber and the limitations of carbon fiber at depth. “There is a fatigue aspect to carbon fiber – once you use it, it won’t be as good the next time you use it, by increments,” said Monroe.

Despite concerns, Rush reportedly dismissed critiques as a lack of vision. He avoided independent safety certification processes and allegedly exaggerated partnerships with institutions like Boeing and NASA. In March 2012, a Boeing engineer warned Rush in an email: “We think you are at high risk of a significant failure at or before you reach 4,000 meters. We do not think you have any safety margin.”

Lochridge filed a report questioning Titan’s safety and was fired shortly after. The documentary includes audio from a 2018 staff meeting in which Rush responds to safety objections by saying: “I don’t want anybody in this company who is uncomfortable with what we’re doing. We’re doing weird shit here and I am definitely out of the mold. There’s no question. I am doing things that are completely non-standard.”

Rush’s decision to call paying passengers “mission specialists” allowed OceanGate to avoid classifying its operations as commercial, circumventing key regulations. “I feel pretty strongly if the civilians… had seen the decisions made along the way, they would have been a lot more reticent to get into that submersible,” said Monroe. “And I think that was not clear, or made clear, to the public.”

The sub ultimately made 80 dives between 2021 and 2022, 13 of which reached Titanic depths. On June 18, 2023, during its descent, Titan lost contact roughly 90 minutes into the dive. Days later, debris confirmed the sub had imploded, killing all five aboard: Stockton Rush, Hamish Harding, Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet.

The U.S. Coast Guard has yet to release its final report on the incident, but internal records cited in the documentary suggest structural failure of the carbon fiber hull as the likely cause. “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. It’s absolutely shocking it went down as many times as it did.

While the Netflix documentary avoids graphic dramatization, it offers a methodical look at how oversight gaps and a culture of unchecked ambition contributed to a preventable tragedy. “Rush believed in the ethos of move fast and break things. Rules don’t apply when you want to change the way things work,” said Monroe. “That’s dangerous when other people’s lives are at stake.”

Titan: The OceanGate Disaster is now streaming on Netflix.

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