OceanGate CEO Knew Titan Submersible Was Faulty & Would Kill Him, Close Friend Testifies

One of the closest friends of the Titan Submersible mastermind Stockton Rush said that he knew that it would end like this but he wouldn’t have to face accountability.

Rush’s friend Karl Stanley said this on Tuesday during the US Coast Guard’s investigation into the case.

Stanley was also from the same field and had been acquainted with Rush for over 10 years. He joined him on the Titan’s 2019 test dive, during which he heard loud cracking noises, but his concerns were brushed off by Rush’s words.

He said that this was not an accident but a crime and the reason why this operation began was because Stockton really wanted to leave his mark on history.

Four years after the dive, Rush and 4 other passengers died while diving into the wreck site of the Titanic during the implosion of the submersible’s carbon fibre hull.

Video Credits: WFAA/YouTube

New photos and videos of the accident site were released in the Coast Guard hearing. They showed the pieces of the Titan’s hull found 1500 ft from the wreck of the Titanic, lying 12,500 ft underwater in the Atlantic Ocean.

Previous testimony from the hearings showed a chaotic picture of Rush’s company OceanGate, which was strapped for cash and ignored serious problems related to the submersible.

OceanGate’s former operations director, David Lochridge, testified that the whole idea behind the company was to make a lot of money, and it was very little in the way of science. He added that he was fired when he pointed out appalling defects in the submersible design.

Several others have testified that Titan continuously faced technical issues and even a deadly ballast malfunction that tossed people about its cabin in a dive only days before the accident.

Despite all this, Rush decided to go ahead to accommodate his customers.

William Kohnen, CEO of Hydrospace Group Inc. and chairman of the Manned Underwater Vehicles Committee, testified that Stockton Rush could not handle criticism well and could not hear the word no, which led to his death.

References: Independent.Co, NYpost