Best conversation I have heard on the subject.
As a scientist and mechanical engineer, I am shocked by the egregious actions of Stockton Rush who was driven by greed, profit, fame and expediency in replacement for sound judgement that he was taught in engineering school.
The act of a madman and his charisma allowed him to convince others to join him and bankroll this death dive. Non technical people have no idea what the risks are.
There were literally 20 mistakes made.  Stockton Rush was a fool.  The other experts interviewed just wouldn't say it.

Stockton was free to do whatever he wanted… but being so cavalier with other people’s lives is what is unforgivable.

What I’ve learned from all this is that just because someone is confident doesn’t mean they are right

The fact that even in the 1930s, with the very first submersible, they managed to create a more appropriate vessel is- wow.

Rush is absolutely going to be remembered for the rules he broke. He didn't fail in that regard.

Rush: “I’ve spent a fortune.”

Physics: “And this gives you power over me?”

THIS SICK MAN LITERALLY BRAGGED AND BOASTED ABOUT BREAKING RULES.

Safety rules are written in blood. If there’s a rule, there’s usually a tragedy behind it. The fact that it never occurred to him to ask WHY it was done that way is just… staggering.

You might as well take the middle of a toilet paper roll and put two titanium caps at each end and call it the titan Ocean gate.

I think this will forever be an example of what happens when you don't follow safety standards.

I think the most dangerous thing about Rush wasn't that he didn't believe the experts, I think he just thought he was smarter than all of them. The reality was that he knew enough to sound like he knew what he was talking about to people outside the industry, but not enough to understand why all his shortcuts he was taking were such a bad idea.

This is the most accurate video I have seen on the analysis of why the Titan failed. Very accurate points.
1. Carbon Fiber is not used in this industry due to not being able to be tested in Finite Element Analysis FEA.  Each material used in any extreme condition is tested for failure rate. Carbon Fiber is too complex and involves epoxy glues as well so not able to be tested easily, too many variables. Additionally, CF degrades over time so it has a limited shelf life. Additionally, this was old CF stock material from Boeing. While carbon fiber itself doesn't "expire" in the sense of becoming unusable, raw and pre-impregnated forms do have a shelf life. Raw carbon fiber should be used within about a year, and pre-impregnated forms can last from 1 to 12 months.

2. The Titan was not spherical.  Forces were very uneven on it. So this adds additionally pressure on an untested material!

3. The Titan was not certified. Every single deep sea vessel has to be certified to operate in US waters. Stockton bypassed this. Unbelievable.  That is why to circumvent the US laws, he operated far off the coast of Canada.

4. He did not have radio contact with his support ship on surface, and he opted for text msgs and accoustical soundings. This is why the support ship got their last text msg from him, AFTER the sound of the Titan imploding (like a door banged shut). That message came from their grave with a time delay. Radio would have been faster. Arrogance.

5. He fired two lead engineers who had safety concerns. He ignored every warning from those in the industry. On one dive, an industry expert heard the loud cracking of the carbon fiber and again, told Stockton this was deadly. The Titan still went 3 more dives after that, and the last one was fatal.

6. He lied to his passengers in his disclosures.  He had the word 'death' mentioned 8 times in his contract with passengers.  He called his passengers 'crew members' to bypass US passenger safety laws.  He took every shortcut possible and played Russian Roulette with their lives, while they paid $250K each for the privilege.

7. Note that EVERY SUB EVER BUILD HAS NEVER HAD AN ACCIDENT OR LOSS OF LIFE, except for Stockton Rush's cheap sub made from spare parts.  Stockton Rush was a grandiose narcissist that lived in a fantasy world not grounded in reality. He wanted to win at all costs, even as a child in school.  No one had told him NO.  He killed himself and 4 amazing other lives due to his hubris.  Ironically, his wife Wendy, is the great, great, great granddaughter of a Jewish couple who died in the original Titanic and shown in the movie.

tbh rush accomplished his goals in life.... he will definitely be remembered for the rules he broke

I guess that at least Stockton was so unbelievably, so incredibly terrible at what he was doing that he didn't end up harming the reputation of the industry.
If anything the fact that so many in the industry reached out to try and warn him speaks well of the industry as a whole, trying to keep each other safe.

He will always be remembered for the rules he broke, broken rules and needlessly thrown away lives under the guise of "exploration". Good job.

Let's be clear, he murdered those people and he just happened to die with them.

Stockton and the Ship of Fools has actually done the industry a favour.  Anyone who wants to go on a trip will 100% make sure the vessel is certified now.

it's absolutely infuriating that after being warned about how dangerous their sub was, Oceangate's response was TO CHANGE THEIR WAIVER TO PROTECT THEMSELVLES LEGALLY NOT TO CHANGE THE DESIGN. So selfish and deceptive.

I very strongly believe that OceanGate was criminally negligent, and would like to see criminal charges filed against the other executives and managers of the company!

Corners Sockton cut:
1. Use of expired carbon fibers not even suitable for aerospace with a 1 atm pressure differential, let alone 350 atm,
2. Failure to crossweave the fibers during hull construction,
3. Failure to cure the epoxy resin in an autoclave to eliminate bubbles and voids,
4. Failure to perform adequate safety testing or get classed for chartered vessels as is industry standard,
5. Failure to perform nondestructive testing (ultrasound) after every dive to look for new defects,
6. The choice of using carbon fiber epoxy composite as a hull material in the first place, which is much weaker in compression and is prone to buckling delamination failure in this configuration after the cyclic stresses of repeated dives,
7. Blatantly ignoring all experts on the matter, treating all constructive criticism as personal insult, etc...
What could possibly go wrong?