The Titanic submarine and Stockton Rush
Growing up, Stockton Rush had an ambition to set foot on Mars first. He began to glance down at the water, though, after learning that a physical condition with his eyes prevented him from serving in the military.
The CEO of OceanGate Expeditions who was behind the recent tragedy of the missing Titan submersible has recently found himself among interesting company. He was just added to killed by their own inventions.
The list is comprised of 26 entries split into a variety of different categories: aviation, medical, and maritime, to name a few. The last entry under the maritime section, before the addition of Rush, was Thomas Andrews Jr., the architect behind the Titanic.
If nothing else, it’s a good exercise in realizing that the pursuit of knowledge and art is not without risk to mind, soul, and, in this case, mortality. Here are other notable deaths on the list.
Rush is the newest addition to the list of ill-fated inventors.
Rush and four others onboard the OceanGate Expedition’s Titan submersible went missing on June 18 while taking passengers on a voyage to see the wreck of the Titanic. The loss of the submersible launched a search-and-rescue mission that had the Navy, Coast Guard, and even “Titanic” filmmaker James Cameron involved.
The search lasted for five days until the Coast Guard announced on June 22 that the submersible had imploded 1,600 feet away from the Titanic shipwreck.
The US Coast Guard has convened a Marine Board of Investigation to look into the cause of the implosion — the highest level of investigation by the organization, according to CNN.
The submersible that has been making headlines for the past few weeks was created by Rush to explore the remains of the Titanic as part of a larger adventure tourism venture.
As more information has come in since the Coast Guard declared the passengers of the Titan deceased, there is evidence to suggest that Rush may have ignored advice from others as well as important safety features before departing.
Karl Stanley, a friend of Rush and owner of Stanley’s Submarines, a deep-sea exploration company, took a test dive in 2019 with Rush. In emails between Rush and Stanley after the test, Stanley warned Rush of the dangers of being impatient.
“The evidence suggests there is an issue/defect in one area,” Stanley wrote in an email to Rush. “Without knowing what that defect or issue is, your models and experts cannot say how it will affect the performance of the hull.”
Rush ultimately did not heed his friend’s warnings, writing in an email back to Stanley to “keep his opinions to himself.”
