ITN Production’s will produce the two-part series…
The Titan Sub Disaster: Minute by Minute will air on Channel 5, a year after the extraordinary mission to rescue the five people trapped inside the missing submersible gripped the world.
The two hour-long episodes of the documentary create a detailed picture of events surrounding the submersible’s expedition to the wreck of the Titanic, assess the scale of the mission and asks ‘what lessons have been learned from the tragedy.’
Dik Barton on the risks inherent on diving the Titanic wreck:
“More people have gone to space than have dived the Titanic wreck. I suspect that the lure and the excitement of the opportunity probably masked the risk of what potentially lay in store.”
The documentary plays never-before-heard audio from the Canadian Air Force of the banging detected during the search and recovery of the sub.
Reports of the banging sounds only emerged late on the Tuesday – day two of the search – and were confirmed on Wednesday. But the Canadian Air Force reveals they heard the banging from day one of the search (Monday morning) and heard it on every search flight. Former British Submarine Commander, Ryan Ramsey, explains the role these sounds played in the search for the sub.
Other contributors include 5 News presenter, Dan Walker, who hosted Titan: Lost at Sea live on Channel 5 as the search and rescue mission was underway, as well as exclusive interviews with deep-sea diving experts.
Experienced sub-mariner and Hydrospace Group’s William Kohnen on the danger of deep-sea diving:
“You just don’t get chances when you go that deep into ocean, the ocean will kill you.”
Former president of RMS Titanic Inc and the first British man ever to dive the Titanic, Dik Barton, shares rarely-seen footage of his dives to the historic wreck and sheds light on the safety procedures required to keep divers safe in one of the dangerous environments on the planet. Barton interrogates the validity of these missions with ‘civilians’ and how the tragedy has impacted the industry that allows the super-rich access to extreme activities.
Arthur Loibl was one of the first men to travel to the Titanic wreck in Oceangate’s Titan submersible. He shares rarely-seen footage from his previous Titan expeditions and describes what it feels like to be over two-miles underwater.
A scale version of the sub was created for drama-reconstruction sequences as actors re-trace the submersible’s journey.
Dan Walker on announcing the conclusion of the tragedy live air:
“I remember being told in my ear that they’re going to announce that there’s been a catastrophic event and sadly they’ve all died. It’s the end that you feared would happen, that you sort of knew would happen. But there is nothing that prepares you for that actual moment when you say those five people on board, they are sadly no longer with us.”
The Titan Sub Disaster: Minute by Minute was commissioned by Federico Ruiz, Commissioning Editor for Channel 5. Executive Producer was Jeremy Daldry and Daniel Smith was Series Producer for ITN Productions.
