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Two documentaries revisit the OceanGate sub tragedy

Nearly two years after OceanGate’s Titan submersible imploded during a dive to the Titanic, killing all five people aboard, two documentaries are bringing fresh perspectives to the disaster. But they also make clear that it’s too early to close the book on the tragedy and its aftermath.

To call the failings of the Everett, Wash.-based venture a tragedy is particularly fitting, because both documentaries focus on the hubris of the tale’s central character, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. It was Rush who piloted the sub during its final journey — and who died alongside veteran Titanic explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding, and Pakistani-born business executive Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood.

The basic facts of the case are laid out similarly in “Implosion,” now streaming on Discovery+ and HBO Max; and in “Titan,” which made its debut on Netflix today. But if you’re intrigued by the OceanGate saga, there are enough differences between the two shows to make it worth watching them both.

By Alan Boyle

Mastermind of Cosmic Log, contributor to GeekWire and Universe Today, author of "The Case for Pluto: How a Little Planet Made a Big Difference," past president of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing.

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