OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush once allegedly dismissed a loud bang heard from the Titan submersible. He allegedly suggested that most deep-sea vessels made noises.
On an episode of the BBC’s ‘The Travel Show’ last year, Stockton was seen warning passengers that the voyage is dangerous. "It's an open book here," Stockton said while speaking with workers and the passengers. "We want everyone going into this fully informed. This is an experimental sub. This is a dangerous environment."
Stockton later addressed the loud bang heard while the Titan was on the surface, saying it was nothing to be concerned about. "Not a soothing sound, but on the surface," he said. "Almost every deep-diving sub makes a noise at some point." It is unclear where the sound came from, but several emails and messages between experts and Stockton went viral after his death, revealing that he dismissed repeated warnings that the submersible was not safe. It has also been reported that Stockton employed college-aged interns to design the electrical systems for the Titan submersible.
Passengers on board the Titan submersible were not referred to as “passengers,” but as “mission specialists” to avoid legal trouble if anyone died, former consultant to OceanGate Rob McCallum told The New Yorker. These customers reportedly paid $250,000 for a place on the Titan.
But "there were no passengers — the word 'passenger' was never used," Rob said. He added that it is not legal to transport passengers in an "unclassed, experimental submersible" under US regulations.
{{/usCountry}}But "there were no passengers — the word 'passenger' was never used," Rob said. He added that it is not legal to transport passengers in an "unclassed, experimental submersible" under US regulations.
{{/usCountry}}"You do get in a little bit of trouble, in the eyes of the law," Rob said. "But, if you kill a passenger, you're in big trouble." The catastrophic implosion of the Titan submersible killed Stockton, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver Paul Henry Nargeolet, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman.