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Previous passengers recall ill-fated Titan: 'I 100% knew this was going to happen' (apnews.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Talk to someone who went on previous trips on the Titan submersible and they’re likely to mention a technology glitch. The propulsion system failed or the communications with people on the surface cut out. They are also likely to mention Stockton Rush. He's the OceanGate Expeditions CEO who died this week on the sub. Rush has been described as both a meticulous planner and an overconfident pioneer. In the wake of the Titan’s fatal implosion Sunday near the Titanic shipwreck, some passengers from previous expeditions described concerning experiences that foreshadowed the tragedy. Still, others felt they were in “good hands” deep below the ocean’s surface.

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[–] [email protected] 68 points 1 year ago (15 children)

Over cigars one night, Rush told Weissmann that he got the carbon fiber for the Titan’s hull at a big discount because it was past its shelf-life for use in airplanes, Weissmann said. But Rush reassured him it was safe.

Death by hubris

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If a material is known to have a component of it degrade over time, why on earth would you use an expired material in an application that at its prime it's already not suitable for?!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It's in line with other behaviour he showed tbh. Like he acted like rules, regulations and warnings are kind of pointless or at least are overly careful. So probably he thought "this still works, it isnt broken so they're probably just not using it because they're overly cautious." Or MAYBE he thought "well its only gonna be used for a few hours at a time, and by the time it gets too bad to use i will have made enough money to buy better and make a replacement." On news on TV a reporter said that guy told he wanted to be an astronaut before but was not allowed bc of his eyesight?+ Maybe that was a regulation that he thought was "pointless," stopped him from doing what he really wanted, and he just never got over it. Which is a bit sad if so but not excuse..

Weird is some people who are alive who like him being like "nooo he was always so careful about everything how could this happen." I think he was just good at rationalizing his actions and explaining them in a way that convinced those people but that doesn't mean he actually was using a perspective of safety even if he framed it that way.

+(Interview from 2017. Funny is back then he said the price is like 105,000 dollars per person, which less than half of what those people paid the last time. Also in the interview he didnt say why he didnt get to be an astronaut, it was a reporter who said he told him he didnt get to because of his eyesight but in this interview he just said that he wanted to be an astronaut but this is like exploring another planet and he wanted to for his whole life.)

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