‘A Preoccupation With Failure.’ Why the Titan Submersible Was Doomed From the Start

Debris from the Titan submersible, recovered from the ocean floor near the wreck of the Titanic, is unloaded from the ship Horizon Arctic at the Canadian Coast Guard pier in St. John’s on June 28, 2023. Paul Daly/The Canadian Press

The company behind the submersible that imploded during a recent dive to the Titanic ignored key principles that guide organizations working in high-risk environments, experts in emergency management say.

Jack Rozdilsky, a professor at York University in Toronto,  says OceanGate’s business—ferrying paying passengers to the floor of the North Atlantic—could be compared to the immensely risky work of companies that launch space flights, drill for offshore oil, fight wildfires or operate nuclear power plants.