Why the Titan Submersible Sub Tragedy Is One We Can’t Look Away From

It has been nearly a year since the OceanGate Titan submersible submarine imploded, killing its five passengers which included Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate. The details that emerged in the aftermath of the disaster painted a tale of overconfidence, ill-advised cost-cutting and plenty of ignored warning signs and safety messages.

This week WIRED magazine published a long exposé featuring new details that are even more disturbing. Yet much of the following commentary and coverage seems to be people taking pleasure in seeing an arrogant CEO fail and meet the end he seemed to deserve. Aside from the schadenfreude, there is the sad fate of the unwitting passengers. Not to mention the setback his failure will create for the entire field of ocean exploration.

So, on the one-year anniversary of the accident, if you’re paying attention to this story, how do you choose to see it? As a satisfyingly necessary come-uppance for an egotistical CEO or as a tragic example of a man whose outsized ego led four innocent bystanders to their untimely deaths?