How Titan was Built, Lost and Found: An Analysis 

Funny how oceangate's stated goal was for science, yet they ignored every piece of scientific and engineering advice from everyone more qualified than rush

The Titan was built by people who thought they knew better, Lost by people who thought they knew better, and found by people who knew better.

The only open question I have about Titan is where the incompetence stopped and the willful negligence began.

Can’t speak for the weapons system aboard USS Colorado, but as a former submariner, there is a very big difference between the Titan being completely controlled by a game controller, and a game controller literally only controlling the periscope. Not to mention that the control surfaces (at least on board a 688i) have several redundancies and other places they can be controlled even if the ships control panel is damaged.

James Cameron was basically right. Cut corners. Ignored warnings. Needless catastrophe waiting to happen…. Right next to the Titanic. Like modern day Shakespeare.

A couple of potentially key aspects that weren't mentioned in this video: A - The viewport was only rated for EDIT: 1300m. That's 1/3 of the depth to the Titanic. That was a flagrant, known danger point. Russian roulette on every dive with a negative safety margin. B - The engineering spec for the carbon fiber thickness was 7". They built it to 5". C - Preface: I used to work at Boeing on the 787 program, both post-cure and pre-cure. The 787 is mostly made of carbon fiber. Pre-cure was basically a low-level clean room. Not an open warehouse where people were at working areas with loafers and polo shirts. Every single large co-cured part underwent ultrasonic inspection and any defects fixed, and checked again for verification. The submersible did not get any testing for voids, inclusions, nor delamination after it was built. Any small one of those SIGNIFICANTLY weakens a co-cured composite structure by a significant amount. For them claiming to be primarily interested in scientific pursuits, they intentionally disregarded science, engineering, and safety standards, then claimed they got in the way of innovation. I'm fine with innovation, but when innovating, you put no lives or only put your life on the line...... not putting several uninformed lives on the line. In my opinion, the passenger's deaths are akin to homicide. Rules were intentionally disregarded, then lives knowingly put in significant danger. Edit: I'm in no way meaning to imply the video missed points intentionally. The stream of information about the disaster comes and goes, and I'm certain there was no ill intent, intentional misinformation, nor deliberate skipping of information.

The number of people defending the CEO is astounding to me. As I recall he basically went on TV and said “I’m gonna ignore all safety procedures because they stifle development and increase cost and complexity.” Why anyone would defend a guy like this is absolutely beyond me. It’s entirely possible to be innovative while still following basic safety protocols.

My father was a sonar tech in the navy during the Cold War and he used to tell me that the things he’d hear in the ocean would probably freak a lot of people out. Really freaky stuff down there.

It's commendable you defended the OceanGate project, both its design, and its reason for existence - science. But I'd dispute that, as a scientist who has been professionally involved in studying and mapping the seabed, and I've made digital photogrammetric 3-D imagery. There isn't any science that this submerisible could do that couldn't be done as well, or better, by remote vehicles mapping the Titanic in detail. Which has already been done and which you pointed out. In fact the Titanic has now been mapped in incredible detail. Taking with them a man and his young son, both of whom had no scientific background, or reason to be there (apart from sightseeing) does not suggest any genuine science. Ok perhaps we could justify their presence by saying the company needed paying customers (with a high ticket price) to fund the project. But if doing genuine science, skip the need to make the vessel big enough for fee-paying passengers, and just build a smaller one (to take only genuine scientists), made from titanium as a sphere - as you showed in your excellent breakdown of Alvin. Finally, if this was all about science, why did Stockton Rush do the exact opposite of that? i.e. ignored the science that showed what materials you could and couldn't build with, ignored the necessary certification (which all genuine scientists would adhere to), and ignored what other experienced experts were telling him. It smacks at best of massive overconfidence in his own abilities, at worst of extreme arrogance.

I was on a submarine for a few years and this is one of the craziest stories I’ve ever heard. He was basically submerging an RV. Absolutely bonkers.

I know that their deaths are said to have been instantaneous and painless, but right before it, the fact that they had the time to try some methods of resurfacing means that they had at least some seconds that they knew that something was wrong... and that's a horrifying feeling to imagine.

As a complete layman it seems to me the acoustic warning system that drops the weights if the pressure vessel makes telltale noises of impending breakup was worthless because once you hear those noises you have seconds to react, and the ship can't change its depth significantly in seconds. It took hours for it to free fall to the target depth of ~12000 feet. Lets say the cracking noises happened at 10000 feet, they took action and dropped the weights, but then the momentum of the ship still continued downward for a second, then slowed to a stop, then reversed to begin accelerating upward, and all that action took say 5 to 10 seconds before the ship attained any significant upward speed. It may have managed to reduce its depth by a couple hundred feet before BOOM, it imploded at say 9800 feet, which was not enough pressure reduction in time to save them. Like the Titanic was unable to make enough course correction in the time it had to react to the sighting of the iceberg.

At the end of the day, it appears this incident was caused by no small amount of hubris and carelessness by OceanGate. Untested construction techniques, ignoring safety regulations and dismissing safety concerns. Simplicity and "risk taking" is something for consumer technology, not when human lives are at risk when visiting one of the most extreme environments on Earth.

I'm honestly surprised they found it. Amidst all that wreckage, they were able to locate (at least part of) that tiny submersible. Says a lot for the skill of those involved.

I am a mechanical engineer that works for a composite pressure vessel manufacturer.. So i have a dog in this race... their testing and design are VERY flawed. No proof? no MEOP? No destructive testing? No cyclic testing? Absolutely insane! Also their boss interface is bad.. Their boss needed to be inter-woven with the composite structure and not just epoxied on and i guarantee they didnt prep that bond surface right with a clean room etching and a water bead test. also they probably didnt do a lap shear bond test on that interface.. It is absolutely insane that ANYONE was enter and submerge in that death trap!

Very informative video, Mike. Although Ocean Gate existed supposedly for science, Rush was still criminally negligent in many areas involving the Titan. He, obviously, had faith in his design but had definitely not reached the point where the Titan had been confirmed safe for others to join the dives.

For a company doing “scientific research” as you claim, they didn’t seem to follow any scientific method to design their deathtrap submarine.

Great video! I gotta add, I was one of the CP-140 pilots, I flew the search over the 96th hour and was leaving the scene as the wreckage was discovered. As an ASW aircraft, acoustics is our bread and butter. We know the difference between biological, background noise, surface vessels, and subsurface sounds. The entire time the “banging” we heard was unlike anything we’ve heard before. It was to a cadence and we located it to a very small area of probability on the sea floor. It seemed to respond when we dropped Mk84 eSUS, or used active to Ping as a mode of communication. This is why we believed they were alive. As more ships arrived on scene, background noise drowned out the banging we heard, but we could still hear it on occasion and easily differentiate noises. The area we triangulated the banging to come from, in part using the echos through a passive sono grid and strategically positioning surface vessels to block certain echos, is where the wreckage was found. At the moment, we don’t know what the banging was, but could have been wreckage tumbling in the strong currents or small implosions from life support equipment as it settled. It’s a tragic ending and all assets on scene really gave it their all. Thanks for making a great video that lays it out nicely.

Important note on SOSUS: The data is not listened to in real time. It is recorded and analyzed by computer or manually at a later time. At the time of Titan's destruction, the Navy did NOT know something had happened - it was only upon directed review that they learned about an *anomaly* in the region of the wreck. This is suggestive, but in no manner is it definitive.

Small correction about the comet, it didn't exploded because of the square windows, it didn't had square windows, they were rounded on the corners, the real reason was metal fatigue on the suboptimal aluminum alloy it was used, it wasn't good enough to withstand the pressure on the new altitudes it was supposed to go, also the rivets left microscopic cracks that eventually made the structure to be torn apart, and unlike modern aircraft, instead of tearing apart the skin and keep flying, it just couldn't hold on the structure and the plane broke apart almost instantly.

The idea that this company was primarily interested in the scientific aspects of diving on the Titanic and allowing paying passengers to go along was secondary is ridiculous. This company was in it for the money and cut corners sacrificing the safety issues to improve their bottom line.

I'm glad James Cameron said what we were all thinking. The irony of the situation is astounding. This didn't need to happen. Those who don't learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.

The material choice of carbon fibre over a proven metal pressure vessel baffles me. Everything I'm learning about this disaster just makes me wonder how Titan was ever meant to reach the depths of Titanic without risking failure

I respect your take on this, there is some good info here, like explaining how the power conservation makes sense because of the long descent times, but I also can't help but think (and I do understand why) you have some rose-colored glasses on right now too. There's a lot of information that's come out showing how negligent and deceptive the company was about the construction and operation of the sub.

If he was a science enthusiast, WHY didn't Dawood not realize that carbon fiber only supports EXPANSION force by stretching, like gas tanks, and is FAR weaker under compression. It was just stupid to use an open compound structure that can delaminate when water enters the layers under high pressure.

7:45 there's a huge difference between using a wired controller of good quality to operate some specific equipment and using a bluetooth controller infamous for its clumsy performance to operate the entire thing. The philosophy was not "simplicity", it was "let's just cut any possibile corner because I'm smarter than anyone else".

This is the first time ive ever heard a modern sonar ping. I never realized how loud they actually are. Great video Mike, and thank you for covering this subject.

I didn’t go hiking in Iceland without a locator beacon. The idea that they did this without an EPIRB is crazy to me.

Now this is how a video about the Titan incident should be done. Thank you for remaining respectful.

There is literally hundreds of times more information within this video then I found in aggregate of all the news sources I read and viewed. I have no idea how you are able to write the script, collect the visuals, and produce the drawings you did, but the effort is nothing short of amazing. Given the speed with which you accomplished it is something I could have expected only from the staff the size of the largest news organizations. But they didn't do it, you did. A phenomenal achievement!

Unfortunately I don’t think this company made it clear to their passengers that this was a very experimental, unproven sub. I read their brochure about the Titanic mission for prospective crew members (before it was taken down) and there’s not much in there about how risky it is. Before all of this happened I had watched some of their Titanic videos but had no idea it was such a poorly designed vessel. Thanks for this informative video!

Good video, with a lot of useful information. I want to comment on Carbon Fiber as a material. Carbon Fiber is one of the strongest materials known. It's commonly used in aviation for the pressure hulls and fairings. However, it is a FIBER... a THREAD... When you pull on it, it's incredibly strong. But when you push on it... Well, take a length of dental floss and pull on it. Then push the two ends together. That gives you an idea for how Carbon Fiber works. Make a bottle of carbon fiber and fill it with something and it can withstand massive amounts of internal pressure. However, that same bottle can be crushed with a fraction of that from outside. Using carbon fiber to make a submarine was a very strange decision.

What he says here isn’t true is actually exactly true lol. The ppl who paid to go onboard were designated a scientific sounding role but were really passengers. You can see from everything coming out now that this man was surfing on the edge of reason. He wanted to be a pioneer (in his design), and refused regulatory testing due to this, it literally blew into his face. And he has helped prove the reason that regulation and testing exists.

The possibility that they heard or felt the bulkhead failing for seconds or minutes is terrifying. Even if they never knew it happened, they knew it was going to happen.

“OceanGate is a legitimate scientific research organization.” *cut to interview with the “designers”* “yeah we got this from uh…. Camper World.”

that sonar sound made my cat SO UPSET. jumped off the couch and has been looking around in confusion with wide eyes for the past 5 minutes.... never seen him react like that to any noise lmao

EDIT JUNE 26: Hijacking this top comment to answer to claims that I am being an OceanGate "apologist". I'm sorry if my intention wasn't clear on this video; I am in no way affiliated with the organisation nor commenting on whether it was right or wrong to use this submersible. I only mentioned OceanGate's MISSION STATEMENT and pointing out that, at their core, OceanGate is an organisation with a scientific purpose with many operations not just related to Titanic dives. For Titanic specifically their science missions did the following; - Film Titanic in high definition from many angles to track deterioration and try to capture, on camera and in high definition, undersea organisms - Take water samples and use DNA analysis to identify organisms and try to match this with the footage taken from that specific dive Whether this is correct scientific method is beyond me; I just wanted to point out that OceanGate, the entire company, is not a sightseeing organisation as a whole based the above information. What is clear is that their business model then relied on public backers to keep these missions going and that those backers were given the opportunity to join the dives as assistants. Whether this is a pure "tourist" operation is open to interpretation by the viewer - I think it is a part of the business model but not the entire thing. I have not made any comment on whether the methodology or design doctrine was right or wrong - I have merely outlined what that design doctrine was. A CORRECTION: In referring to Titan’s wall thickness I mentioned 7” when I actually meant to say 5”, 127mm. Apologies for this misspeak! ANOTHER CORRECTION: Some of you have pointed out that my De Havilland Comet metaphor is based on outdated information. Thanks for this and I will read more into it, but suffice it to say the original point still stands - that a spherical structure or a round structure does a better job at distributing stresses evenly throughout the structure.

I still can't believe nor comprehend Stockton Rush's UTTER RECKLESSNESS. EVERY SAFETY CONCERN voiced to him he brushed off. He had ZERO BUSINESS being at the depth of 12,500 feet where the Titanic has sat since 1912. If I was going on a sub, I would WANT TO BE with James Cameron or Bob Ballard. Their KNOWLEDGE WOULD KEEP YOU SAFE & ALIVE. This just simply SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. The 19 year old male onboard with his Dad was "Terrified" about the excursion. Such a shame.

I would like to commemorate you for how professional and respectful you were when talking in this video. I always enjoy your content! ❤

Respect for including the migrant boat tragedy which has been shamefully seemingly forgotten by the media

I appreciate as always Mike's brilliant presentation, but just from the info that has been publicly available and finally coming more to light, it's already very safe to add that Stockton Rush was beyond reckless and negligent. He was the boss of the operation from top to bottom, and was the only person with the authority to fully question things, an authority which he regularly abdicated. People make a fuss about the game controller, but that was possibly the most reliable component of the whole system, being a widely proven and dependable item. To ferry people to Titanic though, he used a highly unproven experimental and novel construction. The titanium caps were essentially glued with epoxy to the carbon fiber composite hull, and rather than the adhesives being applied in clean room conditions, they were done in an open air building by people in street clothes. Due to their design, the seams formed by the epoxy-joined composite and titanium segments would have been impossible to scan for damage even had Stockton Rush ever wanted to. Moreover, experts in carbon fiber such as advanced bicycle part engineers have fully known for years that carbon fiber composites degrade progressively with use under stress, can fail catastrophically at the worst possible moments, and that even with careful examination may only be known to be at risk only after they have already failed. Every one of the many cracks heard by passengers, as reported on earlier trips, was damage, accruing incrementally over time. Stockton Rush was not going to retire Titan any time soon, could never have detected its growing faults, and reacted bitterly to experts suggesting that he was putting lives in danger. So, Titan's eventual destruction was all but guaranteed. I don't expect any pieces of the composite hull or the bodies to ever be found; the immense pressure and energy of an implosion occurring at hundreds of atmospheres of pressure is hard to comprehend, but it would literally be over in milliseconds, superheating the air inside momentarily and turning the entire hull and its contents into small particles before the unfortunate occupants could even register the collapse. Stockton Rush made claims about NASA, Boeing, and the University of Washington being involved with the sub's engineering, which are now known to be greatly overstated. His victims, yes I say HIS victims, may have been considered crew members rather than tourists, but I struggle to see how a Pakistani billionaire father and his unwilling teenage son, whom he had to heavily coerce to overcome his initial refusal to join him, can be considered anything but unwitting clients, being given so many false assurances after paying hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The anger I have about this incident, is that the Titan should NEVER have been uncertified and have “customers” onboard. Especially when you are going to invite 19 year olds onto your Experiment ☹️

Mike, as a long-time silent viewer, I have to say I really admire your poise and the amount of respect you have shown towards this tragic event.

It was a tourist trip disguised as a scientific "investigation"

I didn't know your channel existed prior to this tragedy. That being being said, i couldn't be more impressed with your knowledge, content, and story storytelling. Keep up the great work!

Thank you. Speaking as a naval architect, this has actually been probably the single best-done video on this accident. You’re clear, concise, and level-headed, and you’re actually knowledgeable about this type of thing.

The de Havilland Comet was caused by a punched Rivet near the crew escape hatch. The punching of the rivets instead of drilling caused microfractures witch led to metal fatigue caused by pressurization cycles. When the failure occurred the crack followed the window line from the crew escape hatch. Windows were not the cause but effect.

Omg I've been obsessed with your channel for a few weeks now and then THIS happens. I was really hoping we'd get a video from you on the situation. You're probably one of my favorite creators now!

A lot of the talk around OceanGate and Stockton Rush is pretty damning. His refusal to get third party certification on an experimental submersible AND take tourist on board is simply inexcusable. Stockton Rush has said in interviews he believes certifications would slow down progress and stifle innovation. The real kicker, though, is he claimed all these certifications were overkill because almost all issues experienced in deep sea submersible vehicles were human errors during operation, a fact which only serves to prove how essential and effective these testing methods are. He even refused an ultrasonic hull integrity test to find any imperceptible stress damage to the carbon composite material, which was the likely the cause of this tragedy.

Technical info is good here. It’s just odd to be so deferential to OceanGate and Rush’s intentions. There are now public records that demonstrate the gaping negligence of this company at nearly every level. Whatever “scientific” goals this company had, their broader aim was to sell this uncertified technology to other companies, and they were using unwitting civilians whom they got to sign waivers without even knowing about the actual risks that real experts had made clear. If there were a buyer, they would have happily sold this technology to other companies also willing to cut corners and put their workers at risk. At least now the chances of that happening are next to zero. Just unfortunate that people had to pay that price with their lives.

Oh wow, the video of the sonar with the divers was really cool. Hearing it travel away from them really gives a better understanding of how that works.

Fascinating information and so well delivered with tact, diplomacy & empathy. I have been captivated by the whole story (as I was about the Titanic). It was a sad ending for all involved.

I think its fair to say this company was funded by an egomaniac who completely ignored experts opinions. "Scientific"doesn't count as a defense if you don't do decent research about acceptable practices. there are many subs that can safely dive. He chose to take unreasonable risks unnecessarily. He was warned, and now an innocent 19 year old tragically lost their life.

It is truly tragic that P.H. Nargeolet passed away in this easily avoidable tragedy. He was one of the most prolific explorer's to the titanic, and I wouldn't know nearly as much as I do without his efforts

Interesting explanation of the methods used. I spent 23 years in the US Navy, many of those with the ASW Community and spent many hours flying in the Great P-3 Orion. The P-3C can find you underwater using a number of methods, not the least of which are sonobouy’s and the MAD Boom (Magnetic Anomaly Detection). I was friends with many of the Technicians who operated this equipment, and believe me they are a talented group. Just ask any Soviet Navy Submarine Skipper who was chased by them. 😊Enjoyed your presentation, thanks!

Your channel has a quality, a rigour, a style and a good taste that surpasses many professionals in the news and broadcasting industry. Thank you very much, Mr. Brady.

As we say in the mariner community, Safety regulations and procedures are often written in blood. Hope some type of regulation is signed into law so this never happens again.

Mike, a quick note on how the titanium rings were attached: they were bonded using an epoxy (in layman's terms--they were glued together). It is concerning that this was done in a warehouse (as seen in your video). Any dust or particulates could have gotten in and created a potential source of weakness in the epoxy. In addition to the many other shortcomings of this design, the building practices also fell short. Given the tolerances involved, this step should have been performed in a controlled clean room.

The "finding it" half of this video was most interesting to me. I've seen other people go over the follies of the company, the sub's design, and the CEO in greater detail, but there's been a blank spot in my understanding on how they actually found it. Thanks for making this. I'd be interested to know if they'd have been able to find it and raise it in time if the implosion hadn't occurred and the crew was, as the average person initially imagined, just sitting down there slowly losing air.

You probably hear this often, but I LOVE how well-dressed you are all of the time. It may be overlooked by some, but it's genuinely really impressive. Your knowledge of these things is also quite impressive and I thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!

It's gonna be strange to think that this site will no longer be only the final resting place for over 1500 people that tragically passed away well over a century ago, but also for a small handful of contemporary people that walked the Earth at the same time as us. In times when we think we have pretty much everything regulated and figured out, this serves as a grim reminder that there are always areas in which we can improve. Excellent, very respectfully presented and very informative video, Mike.

I’m an aerospace engineer and what really bothers me is Stockton Rush’s bragging that he didn’t “follow the rules”. The design and materials were already bad enough, but they didn’t even conduct any NDT (non destructive testing) on the hull. Things like fluorescent particle inspection (FPI) to detect surface defects such as linear indications (small cracks) or CT scanning to detect any internal voids. This is so irresponsible and quite frankly criminal!

We can’t ignore that Oceangate went against every industry standard and cut countless corners. That’s unacceptable.

Thank you for this, I was so annoyed seeing so many people just write off the deaths and say they deserve it because they’re rich

The issue I’ve always seen with carbon fiber pressure vessels like in automotive or other industries usually have a shelf life of 5-7 years before they start delaminating. It’s very unusual for them to not have issues and any exposure to sun shortens it’s life. I couldn’t believe they were still using the same sub after so many dives and years.

disagree with several of the points made. Especially the analogy that using a controller for the control of a human-manned submersible is equivalent to manipulating a weapons system on which human lives don't rely.

I can't help comparing how the general public focused so much on the Oceangate Titan, whose owner basically was charging rich people to put them in mortal danger while posing as an "innovator" (he was anything but an innovator; he was an insult to all engineers who ever existed, exist, and shall exist), while it turned a blind eye to the refugee vessel's wreck and the policies and events that led to its sinking.

I can immediately tell this was a hard tale for you to tell, but.. Thank you.

You lost me when you said they were visiting the Titanic for "science". It was a money maker period. Later

11:25 In that video of the *actual* carbon fiber being wound, that activity probably should have taken place within a clean room. Because there were people within several inches of the carbon fiber being wound, particles of dust and other debris may have contaminated the carbon mesh, creating points of weakness. Over several dives, these points of weakness or delamination may have grown. Also, microscopic air bubbles in the carbon fabric could have produced a similar effect.

Thank you Mike for a thorough and thoughtful explanation of the events and the technologies used. A very tasteful presentation of events surrounding this tragedy.

You're the first content creator that didn't dive into insults toward Stockton. Focused more on the educational side of things and teaching us why it would fail and how it was found. Thank you. Mind you, I will not praise a man for ending the lives of people for his risky endeavor, but it is nice to watch a video and learn something new.

I must disagree with you about the controller. It was a wireless controller which is insane. What happens if it runs out of batteries? How many spare batteries did you bring? What if something happens with the wireless connection? Is there a backup system? Is there a hardwired controller in case something goes wrong?

It's crazy to me that after 111 years, the Titanic is still claiming lives, and for largely similar reasons. The hubris and ignorance of safety measures of both the White Star line and Oceangate staff is what led to this tragedy

Former Navy, there's a HUGE difference between the USN controllers and an off-the-shelf version.

I’m truly sorry for the loss of your friend. I know that must be quite difficult to reconcile with. But I want to thank you for taking the time to make this video. I’m no scientist, just an old broad with a lifelong love of science. You made it accessibly understandable, even for a neophyte like myself.

I am glad you are covering this. This is the one channel I trust to have the knowledge talk about the events without being sensational or opportunistic. Having watched this channel for a while, I have sometimes lamented that you spent so much time on Titanic. But I knew why you did. It was a ‘Flagship’ (no pun intended) wreck. As you said, Titanic gets viewers who then learn about a great deal of the science and history of similar vessels and wrecks. My background is Environmental Science and we use ‘Flagship Species’ (official term) to attract attention to ecosystems, biomes and issues. Such as Koala conversation in my part of Eastern Australia to get support for forest management. I am not a Titanic fan, but every video is full of so much information, it is fascinating. And this is why I knew that Oceanliner Designs would offer a clear, well informed overview of what has happened. And I was not disappointed.

If I had that kind of money for deepside exploration, I would have chosen James Camerons machine and experienced crew.

“I looked at the commercial opportunities and really settled on the early big opportunity being high end adventure tourism, mostly to the Titanic”. Stockton Rush, direct quote. This was a tourist operation, you have to terminally deluded to think it wasn’t. I will attribute that delusion to the evident sycophancy you have for your hero that died in this misadventure.

I really enjoy the channel, but as an engineer, I did not like the way Oceangate was portrayed. A difference in design methodology does not allow folks to cut corners and ignore single point failures. The controller is such a case of a single point failure that had unnecessary additional failure points added in (being wireless). I hope the guy brought spare batteries. Also, from what’s been reported, the company culture was completely off (fail fast, emphasis on new college hires, removal of folks that raised safety concerns). Sorry oceanliner designs, but you missed the mark on this one.

As always your eloquence in these matters and respect for the lost souls of both maritime incidents shows how much you take the time to think about what you want to say. You're not going straight to words, but you think of the words you want to say. (If that makes sense.) You use your mind and your heart to speak, instead of just rushing out to say whatever just so you can be first to say something. I feel you're first to say something that is both thought provoking and being respectful to the matters at hand. You are definitely top shelf in my book. Have a lovely weekend and thank you for sharing your knowledge and explaining to us this incident.

I’m a licensed Mariner, (Tankermen on big river boats called towboats pushing barges sometimes longer than 4 American football fields in length), working 28 days a hitch up and down all the main river systems in America, such as the Mississippi River. As a Mariner, I just want to thank you for taking these videos serious and for doing so in a professional manner. I speak on experience when I say our industry, especially working on towboats, is one of the most dangerous and hard working jobs in the work/labor industry. When disaster strikes on the water, it doesn’t just happen lightly, it HITS and when it does, you gotta be on your shit. It can come down to one minor mistake or distraction to determine whether or not you and your and your crew make it back home to your families safe. I’ve been in some serious life or death situations, multiple times. One scenario putting me in therapy and caused mild PTSD that I still deal with. Some nights while at home sleeping, I relive some of the moments in my dreams that are so realistic, I shoot out from under the covers in a panic, as if I’m in an actual emergency. But I love my job and this industry and wouldn’t want to have it any other way.

If the Titan was a 'scientific' vehicle it was terribly designed even for that stated goal. Let's face it the biggest experiment it ever carried out was how many rich people it can sucker into risking their lives in an uncertified submersible.

Mike i could watch you all day. Im a historian, a history teacher actually who has a slight obsession with ocean liners, and of course titanic. Thank you mike for all you do!

It’s crazy the hatch could only be opened from the outside. If they were able to surface but weren’t found they could run out of air.

The end caps were glued onto the carbon fiber hull in an open air warehouse with techs smoothing out the glue by hand, which another video I watched mentioned that at that point after it was applied there was no way to physically test the bond of the glue to the titanium and carbon fiber

Thank you for the information. I appreciate your desire to walk a respectful line, and stick with information. Cameron and Ballard are experts they can speak out about what was not done to promote safety etc. The investigation will reveal the end truth of the matter. Thank you for your part.

Thanks! I’ve enjoyed your videos for awhile generally but this is the best vid on the titan I’ve watched

Thanks for your comprehensive and non inflationary coverage. The weird thing is that I only just recently started watching your other videos about the Titanic before all this happened in the last couple of weeks. Primarily because I was interested in the latest photo recreation.

It was said elsewhere that the submersible’s carbon fiber hull was wound in a warehouse type environment that wasn’t dust-free and was not temperature controlled.

It amazes me that the sub did not have some sort of ELT beacon on it like aircraft do. Makes the needle in the haystack easier to find. In a previous run, they surfaced and floated for four hours before they were found. This whole mess was a $250K game of Russian Roulette.

I may sound like a broken record in this videos comments but this is a really good, unbiased, and accurate video discussing the tragic loss of Titan. Mike, keep on being the voice of the ocean liner community!

As ever, an intelligently written, well researched and presented video. Well done Mike and any colleagues! My condolences to you and the community for the loss of your friend PH.

The de Havilland Comet didn't suffer explosive decompressions due to the window shape (they were rounded corners too). It experienced it due to metal fatigue cracks growing from repeated pressurization cycles (something some in the submersible community were worried about the carbon fiber of the Titan). The shape of the windows had nothing to do with the Comet breakups, as can be evidenced from the accident reports showing how the origin point of the fatigue cracks weren't at the windows (nor did they cross the windows). Otherwise good and interesting video

in '96, while stationed in San Diego at the subbase, a friend of mine got stationed on the civilian/navy research vessel called the Delaney Choeste. the Choestes actually were from my state and near where I was from in New Orleans. the owner had ocean going tugs as well and named them after his daughters. I got to tour the Delaney Choeste and see the submersible "turtle." you don't hear much about it for some reason. there was another submersible on the ship in a bay that was bigger, but I don't remember the name. there were several ROV's as well. they were such smaller than I expected. wish I could remember more about it. love your videos btw.

Why don’t you mention that apparently the viewing port hole was only rated down to 1300m -WAY LESS than the required 4000m depths it was traveling to. You even go so far as to refute that the port hole would be viewed as a weak point. Maybe not usually, but THIS ONE definitely was

I’ve been enjoying your historical videos for about a month now and I’m genuinely aghast at your take re Ocean Gate. They cut corners at every opportunity, repeatedly rejected the accumulated wisdom of serious, experienced deep dive scientists, and it got people killed. Let’s stop pretending this wasn’t a completely predictable and preventable outcome.

15:01 it's a nuance but largest for submersible use. Technically the 787's fuselage is a larger wound carbon fiber pressure vessel but it's used in a radically different application/pressure profile.

Thoughtful and informative video with due respect and obvious anguish over the lost. Very well done young man. You made me see this tragedy in a new light. So sad 😢

James Cameron said the Titan disaster is similar to the Titanic disaster and the captain ignored safety warnings. This means that both disasters could have been prevented