When the Titan submersible imploded during its descent to the wreck of the Titanic in June 2023, the tragedy captured the world’s attention. It raised difficult questions about engineering, innovation, and safety. Now, following the release of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s final investigation, we have a much clearer picture of what went wrong.
In light of these new findings, we’re revisiting one of our most insightful conversations on the topic with Martin McLaughlin, founder of McLaughlin Aerospace. Martin is a veteran aerospace engineer with more than 40 years of experience, including 22 years developing tactical aircraft and the B-2 bomber, and 17 years working on space transportation systems. Martin has extensive expertise in advanced composite structures and composite cryogenic propellant tanks, and has participated in accident investigations throughout his career.
In this episode, he explains how aerospace engineers validate high-risk composite structures, what warning signs OceanGate might have missed, and why rigorous engineering processes are essential when lives are on the line.
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