- Stockton Rush once boasted OceanGate could monitor any issue in the Titan sub's carbon fiber hull.
- In a 2018 video, he called the Titan's design "one of the greatest moments of submersibles."
OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush once boasted about his company's ability to monitor any issue with its Titanic sub's controversial carbon fiber hull — and hailed the vessel's technology as "one of the great moments of submersibles."
In a 2018 video from OceanGate's YouTube, Rush and employees christened the Titan submersible, giving speeches on the engineering and design processes.
Rush spoke to some of the "incredible electronics inside of the sub" — which was operated using a video game controller — including acoustic and strain monitoring systems for the carbon fiber hull.
While listing the different ways to gauge stress on the hull, he said, "We know more about what's happening in this hull than anyone has ever known, adding: "This will be one of the great moments of submersibles, in that this technology is what we need to explore the ocean depth."
Much of that technology — such as the carbon fiber hull and glue holding the vessel together — was experimental, with experts and former employees raising concerns. A former employee says he warned Rush about the dangers of the sub, but the CEO dismissed the concerns and fired the worker.
While Rush insisted that he put safety above all else, he also acknowledged the Titan sub hadn't been checked to see if it met industry standards, citing "innovation."
Rush and four passengers aboard the Titan submersible died when the Titan sub imploded last month while diving to the wreck of the Titanic 12,500 feet beneath the Atlantic ocean.