Titan submarine boss denounced as 'psychopath' risking lives for fame
The chief executive behind the Titan submarine that imploded during a deep sea tour has been branded a "psychopath" by his former employees following a bombshell new documentary.
Stockton Rush, 61, died during the OceanGate disaster in June 2023. The tour company was known for sending thrill-seekers 3,800m down to see the Titanic shipwreck - a two hour trip in the murky waters, which former staff deemed as unsafe. Just 90 minutes into the journey, five people were tragically killed as the submarine imploded under water. British adventurer Hamish Harding and father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood were named as the victims onboard. French national Paul-Henri Nargeolet also died.
The deep-sea vessel was on an expedition to the Titanic wreckage around 435 miles south of St John's, Newfoundland, when it lost contact with the tour operator an hour and 45 minutes into the two-hour descent, with the vessel reported missing eight hours after communication was lost. After days of searching, wreckage from the submersible was recovered from the ocean floor near the Titanic.
Now, a new Netflix documentary has revealed the timeline of events leading up to the disaster and explained that staff were concerned about the idea. The chief pilot of OceanGate, David Lochridge, was fired when his inspection report highlighed several safety risks. He previously said that Rush "wanted fame" to "fuel his ego".
And that wasn't the only negative feedback about the boss. According to former engineering director, Tony Nissen, Rush was a "borderline psychopath". Nissen was the lead engineer on the Titan sub and had previously explained that he had felt pressure to get it operating.
Nissen had refused to step foot on the submarine a few years ago. 'I'm not getting in it,' he told Rush at the time. OceanGate suspended all tours and operations following the incident.
This comes after a BBC documentary revealed the chilling moment when the Titan submersible imploded on its descent. It is caught on a camera from support ship the Polar Prince, which was being manned by Wendy Rush, the wife of Rush.
The new footage, from June 2023, was obtained by the US Coast Guard for its ongoing investigation into the disaster and shows Wendy hearing the sound of the implosion and wondering what it was. Initially she asks with a nervous smile: "What was that bang?"
A moment later she receives a text message informing her that the Titan has 'dropped two weights' which leads her to believe that all is well and the dive is proceeding as expected. But the text had taken a few moments to arrive, and had actually been sent before the implosion, which killed all five passengers instantly.
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