Posted on 07/06/2023 6:08:52 AM PDT by Red Badger
A man who was once a passenger on the doomed Titan submersible has claimed that OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush suggested the crew sleep on the vessel overnight while they were stuck at the bottom of the Atlantic.
Jaden Pan's 2021 expedition took a terrifying turn when the Titan's battery died just over two hours into its descent to the Titanic wreck on the ocean floor.
Speaking to the BBC last year, the videographer recalled the moment Rush told the passengers that the battery had gone 'kaput.'
Rush reportedly told passengers they needed to go back to the surface when they were within two football fields' distance of the legendary ship wreckage.
'At first, I thought he was joking because we were over two hours into our expedition and so close to the bottom,' Pan told the BBC.
'But then he explained that one of the batteries went kaput and we were having trouble using the electronic drops for the weights, so it would be hard for us to get back up to the surface.'
As Rush tried to solve the issue, he reportedly offered the passengers to go to sleep as the vessel sunk to the bottom of the ocean.
Once the vessel's weights dissolved after 24 hours, the submersible would be able to rise to the surface.
Half the crew, including Stockton, said they would be okay sleeping at the ocean's floor. However, the other clients were not willing to spend the night under the ocean.
Eventually, Rush managed to use hydraulics to drop the weight and the vessel floated back up safely with everyone on board.
The CEO was seen on the BBC report telling the crew they were going to be down for another '16 to 24 hours.'
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Absolute clown operation.
The CEO was an idiot.....................
“Once the vessel’s weights dissolved after 24 hours, the submersible would be able to rise to the surface.”
WHAT!!??.....UNBELIEVABLE.
“electronic drops for the weights.”
Fly by wire weight release? Absolutely stupid, manual or forget it. Same with steering and brakes on vehicles.
The whole industry needs a rectal exam.
He had all sorts of “duct tape” solutions, but, at some point, you need something for duct tape to stick to.
I think they were the whole industry.
Small subs were never made to go that deep.
Even the US NAVY subs don’t go that deep.........................
So they knew for a while that their design was NOT safe to carry passengers.
24+ hours under constant 5000psi, and the weights would not be the only thing to ‘dissolve’...............
My guess is the CEO was strapped for cash, and either wouldn’t sell shares that would dilute his control or couldn’t sell shares because it might not have looked like a business that would ever make money. That’s the usual reason for cutting corners.
DeLorean went into the cocaine business to fund his company and reliability went into the crapper, as he was running low on cash. Of course, in the auto business, when you take short cuts, the worst that happens, usually, is your customers get stranded on the shoulder.
The more I hear about this makes it very hard to understand why anyone would get on this thing to see a decaying wreck.
The people that lived to tell the story of their own experience on this cheesy sub give me the creeps.
These stories must not have gotten much notice outside the submersible community or nobody would do this.
Stockton was very careless.
And I bet you they never did a full X-Ray scan of that pitiful hull after any of the trips or tests, to check for stress cracks..........
Right after this incident I saw IIRC was a CEO from another submersible outfit stating “Rush and Oceansgate had given the whole industry a black eye” so I figured there were at leat a few more.
I guess they even lost a robotic submersible during the search operations. It couldn’t handle the depths.
It sounds like Titan had multiple redundancy in this case.
Electronic, then hydraulic and then dissolving weights.
I read he refused non-destructive testing because of the cost, and did not get it certified because it was only used in international waters which don’t require certification.
There are ones that go down much shallower depths to see sunken ships and reefs, but none that I know of that go down that deep......................
Cutting corners and being cheap cost him his life and the lives of the others....................
[So they knew for a while that their design was NOT safe to carry passengers.]
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.