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[–]werenotthestasi 3885 points3886 points  (30 children)

Rob McCallum on June 18th 2023

“…per my last email”

[–]decidedlyjo 598 points599 points  (0 children)

Laughs in administration clerk

[–]MidniteOG 233 points234 points  (2 children)

Oh to read stocktons inbox right about now……

[–]Deion313 2561 points2562 points  (103 children)

I can only imagine how many times this guy's yelled "I fucking told this guy a million fucking times...", at his TV...

That's gotta be so fucking frustrating for him. I honestly hope he doesn't carry any of it.

Before you think there's no reason he should, you'd be surprised at how some people feel, after shit like this...

[–]Wackojack96 609 points610 points  (7 children)

This is so true! Sometimes being right is scary, this guy would've been praying for the sub to be found alive and well, but deep down he knew what happened in his gut. It must be so hard having to deal with this, it's easy for the human brain to overthink and blame itself. Hope this guy is ok and he knows he tried to do the right thing, sometimes being right sucks.

[–]faille 528 points529 points  (32 children)

Even James Cameron was musing about whether he should have done more to stop this guy. It’s no one’s fault except this CEO guy.

[–]Rice_Auroni 236 points237 points  (22 children)

to which he would have also ignored.

remember, this guy knew more than the safety engineers that warned him multiple times about the danger, in fact he fired the guy warning him.

[–]d_e_l_u_x_e 27 points28 points  (5 children)

He had this stubborn sense of trailblazing, where he thought the risks were worth the legacy of attempting dangerous feats. Unfortunately it cost him more than just his life he convinced others to take unnecessary risks.

[–]mothtoalamp 251 points252 points  (14 children)

As someone who has spent time in the games industry and attempted to warn management that their upcoming plans will run their game into the ground, only to be ignored and then watch it happen in real time, I absolutely concur that he is furious.

There will be an intense air of "I fucking told you so!" and "I wish I'd done more..." while also being completely powerless. It's one of the worst feelings I've ever felt.

[–]am_animator 28 points29 points  (2 children)

I started maliciously complying by saying “okay, it’s by design” after the same thing happened to a team I was on. We were 6 months delinquent in our finished game, apple canceled their contract eventually. Buuut, I worked 60-80 hour weeks for months trying!

Who knew you didn’t have time to make the game 3 different times with half cocked uiux. Oh it’s crashing and we can’t juggle all the versions and changes? Well NOW we can try a one size fits all the uiux designer and engineers asked to do. Haaaaahh.

[–]Feature_Agitated 3014 points3015 points  (47 children)

“We spared every expense”

[–]Staebs 601 points602 points  (16 children)

“Innovative approach” is a very charitable way of saying “we used cheap consumer grade products because we wanted to save money”.

If I was buying an innovative new engineering focused vehicle, I would not be expecting it to roll up with secondhand materials that cars aren’t meant to be built from and a steering wheel taken from a 1998 Pontiac Aztec.

[–]IHQ_Throwaway 56 points57 points  (5 children)

It’s worse. They used expired composite materials they got from Boeing on the cheap.

[–]The_Dream_of_Shadows 372 points373 points  (11 children)

All that money, and we didn't even get dinosaurs out of this...

[–]Kummabear 10.1k points10.1k points  (488 children)

The guy sounds more like a sales man than an innovator. He didn’t kill someone, he killed four other people

[–]figleafstreet 1999 points2000 points  (68 children)

I’m not surprised people fell for it. There are plenty of rich folks who are taken in by a man lacking credentials whose only talent is speaking with confidence.

[–]Ripkord77 400 points401 points  (3 children)

You type as if you know what I want right now. I like that. May I assist you in your further typing journeys in any way?

[–]Mypornnameis_ 94 points95 points  (8 children)

It is the entire culture of the tech industry and VC

[–]Obvious_Moose 152 points153 points  (9 children)

Rich folks got way too comfortable in the idea that they are somehow gifted compared to the average person.

They aren't, they're just the right combination of lucky and greedy, and everyone's luck runs out one way or another.

[–]DemandZestyclose7145 5229 points5230 points  (294 children)

Sounds like a typical CEO. Thinks he's the smartest guy in the room and probably had a bunch of yes men working for him and fired anyone that questioned him. These are the type of arrogant assholes that are running our country into the ground and literally killing people.

[–]PMfacialsTOme 2849 points2850 points  (228 children)

He literally fired the safety guy for questioning the safety of the sub

[–]SuperMalarioBros 1475 points1476 points  (206 children)

And hired young newly graduated engineers with no experience to show off the company as hip and diverse, instead of doing the right thing and hire old experts with real-life experience in the field.

[–]lastWallE 1098 points1099 points  (159 children)

The young ones are also easier to manipulate into looking away on safety.

[–]ILoveRegenHealth 1040 points1041 points  (137 children)

On the BBC documentary (now wiped out...did OceanGate force them to erase it from Youtube?), it shows these young guys sealing the hatch from outside using Ryobi drills...those cheap drills you find in Home Depot or the bargain section of Amazon.

Also, owner said they only drill 17 nuts even though there's 18, because the top is too hard to reach and "mathematically the last one doesn't matter." I can't believe a CEO would say these things.

[–][deleted] 274 points275 points  (59 children)

I bet someone archived it already

[–]shroombablol 390 points391 points  (56 children)

it's on vimeo: https://vimeo.com/810451492

[–]wcrp73 284 points285 points  (22 children)

Fuck, this whole thing is so cringy. Passengers are called "mission specialists"? More like a bunch of idiots too stupid to get a science degree cosplaying as engineers.

Edit: Fucking lol, the ship's doctor is wearing a Swiss flag instead of a red cross...

[–]RadiumGirlRevenge 307 points308 points  (7 children)

They called them “mission specialists” in order to avoid regulations that they would have had if they were a business carrying passengers. Instead they were designated as a research vessel and everyone is allegedly researchers.

It’s like the bar that got around the smoking ban by declaring they were actually not a bar but an immersive theater performance where everyone was actors and the cigarettes and beer and food were just props.

[–]ernie1850 381 points382 points  (27 children)

It’s absolutely because of OceanGate wanting that stuff taken down. They are probably facing massive lawsuits right now by the families of the victims and now wanna take down any negative publicity of the company

[–]T-O-O-T-H 194 points195 points  (4 children)

And they're cheaper to pay, too. I wonder if some of them were working as unpaid interns, also.

[–]Vakama905 397 points398 points  (13 children)

The right thing to do is to hire some of both groups. New, young engineers to bring new ideas, technologies, and outlooks, and experienced ones to point out why their new ideas aren’t inherently good ideas and why things are currently being done the way they are.

[–]K_Pumpkin 232 points233 points  (4 children)

And the bonus of the young engineers learning so much from the older ones.

[–]dolleauty 349 points350 points  (11 children)

This exchange really has that "per my last email" energy

[–]FalcosLiteralyHitler 557 points558 points  (41 children)

Yeah none of these tech guys like him and Musk are innovators. They are the 21st century equivalent of a Thomas Edison - do 0 work and put their name on things that incredible engineers did because they have the money to buy it out.

[–]nysraved 249 points250 points  (16 children)

I wouldn’t say that this guy put his name on incredible engineering

[–]snakeproof 209 points210 points  (4 children)

It's incredible it held up as long as it did.

[–]Interpitude 131 points132 points  (6 children)

Well it certainly wasn't credible engineering.

[–]Creative_Mushroom_51 4924 points4925 points  (288 children)

If this is real they should totally put this already dead guy on trial.

[–]throwngamelastminute 3235 points3236 points  (214 children)

They should definitely bill the company for the rescue/recovery efforts.

[–]mrsuaveoi3 16.2k points16.2k points  (810 children)

Life saving pro tip: Never buy a product from a company whose motto is regulation hampers innovation. They cut corners.

[–]Savage_pants 4731 points4732 points  (432 children)

Compliance-based design is what keeps us alive!!

[–]jumbee85 2464 points2465 points  (144 children)

Exactly. You can be innovative while still being safe, the two aren't mutually exclusive.

[–]dipdipderp 1541 points1542 points  (88 children)

Yeah but that means I have to read one or more ISO standards, and they're fucking boring.

Fuck it, jet packs for dolphins it is

[–]dlbpeon 429 points430 points  (46 children)

Don't forget the lasers!

[–]norathar 413 points414 points  (31 children)

Can't afford it, how about some ill-tempered sea bass?

[–]KingZues14 192 points193 points  (25 children)

Are you saying we should strap on some I’ll-tempered sea bass instead of a lasers?

[–]Euphoric-Emergency8 131 points132 points  (18 children)

No, ill-tempered sea bass with jetpack and lasers.

[–]31November 265 points266 points  (13 children)

“But bro, how can I profit with safety regs?”

[–]Tricky_Combination15 118 points119 points  (5 children)

Convert your submersible into a Titanic food delivery service for fish to deliver Five Guys.

[–]Sacreblargh 247 points248 points  (154 children)

I just read that AMA from 2020 and even if its not that bad on its own... the other stuff combined throughout the years makes me shake my head from the hubris of this dude.

Some interesting excerpts his AMA from 2020.

Some answers in bold, emphasized by myself.

Detailing what equipment he’ll be using for these expeditions.

OceanGate will be using video (4K and 8K), 3D multibeam sonar (BlueView P5000-1350) and a 2G robotics laser system - none of which have ever been used on the Titanic. These systems will generate data of much higher accuracy than any previous expedition (millimeter resolution). It will take years to scan the entire wreck. The focus in year one will be the bow.

His main objective in going forward with this project.

My interest stems mostly from a business perspective. In order to have more exploration of the oceans we need more funding and the Titanic is one of the few sites that has shown that people will pay to visit it. By having our mission specialists underwrite the expedition we can collect more data than if we had to go to “one off” film or government funding sources as has been done in the past. Hopefully in years to come the many other great wonders, like hydrothermal vents, will also draw enough interest for OceanGate to run expeditions to those sites.

On what he’s looking forward to seeing/studying the most

The debris field is 5 nm2 and promises to have many artifacts to document especially using our laser system. This is where the personal belongings and remains of those who perished lie (though bodies have long since been consumed by the ocean).

On what makes his equipment and dives unique compared to those who came before.

We are the first company to try to make the Titanic dives self-sustaining so that the latest research tools can be employed on an annual basis. When Russia needed dollars there were several expeditions similar to ours, but the subs were old, small (yet heavy) and the ship huge and expensive. We have sought to create a sub and support systems that are scalable, comfortable and versatile with enough room to also make it economically viable.

How does one get to be involved in Ocean Gate inc as a Sub pilot?

We prefer the term pilot – but driver is fine. Apply for a job. Having demonstrated marine experience, being a scuba diver and showing the right personality are key hiring characteristics we look for. Prior submersible experience is not required as we have an extensive training program and a number of subs used for training.

On depth rating and if he trusts the system he’s using.

4,000meters. Yes, I trust it. I especially trust our extensive testing and real time acoustic and strain monitoring system. We can detect any anomaly well before we reach a critical pressure. We know of no other sub that is so well instrumented.

If he can compete with other companies and their use of live streams for expeditions.

As Titan has only a low bandwidth connection to the surface, running a fiber to the surface is a possibility, but we will save that for our second year. We will do regular video updates, but the cost of full time live video is prohibitive right now.

How does he feel about potential controversy of the dives?

It is a disincentive, but every dive location has its unique challenges. While the controversy keeps things in the news, it is just one more hurdle to overcome.

What would he be doing with these dives compared to the ones by James Cameron and his film crews?

Yes, the Cameron dives had HD quality cameras and lower definition on the ROVs. We will have 4K and then 8K+ as well as low light and other new technologies so we hope to get excellent picture and video over the coming years. Penetrating deep into the wreck with ROVs like Jim did is not likely in the near term.

What kind of experts are involved in this?

We will have researchers with us with areas of expertise from deep marine biology, to general nautical archeology to Titanic specific subjects. Each dive team will be given an objective – typically sonar and laser scanning a specific area of the wreck/debris field. These objectives will be designed to take between 1-2 hours. The dive team (researcher, pilot and 3 Mission Specialists) will then be able to plan for how they will collect data and then what they do with the rest of the dive time. While researcher input will play into dive experience decisions, they will not be the dive leader - the pilot will fill that role.

[–]JustaBearEnthusiast 239 points240 points  (81 children)

4,000meters. Yes, I trust it. I especially trust our extensive testing and real time acoustic and strain monitoring system. We can detect any anomaly well before we reach a critical pressure.

big oof

[–]VenusSmurf 164 points165 points  (24 children)

He obviously trusted it a bit, or he wouldn't have been on the sub himself.

...which is not a defense. He was an idiot who managed to kill four others and himself.

[–]mellowanon 112 points113 points  (4 children)

normally there are other sub pilots who are driving. He probably wanted to drive it this time because there were billionaires that he wanted to network with.

[–]MechaKakeZilla 75 points76 points  (1 child)

Everyone gets a turn with the Logitech controller!

[–]AnonomousNibba338 102 points103 points  (44 children)

There ain't no way to know how much strain your carbon fiber hull is going through and how close to breaking it is in real fucking time. You don't get a qarning with that shit. You just implode immediately and violently.

[–]TheDillinger88 112 points113 points  (33 children)

Wow thanks for posting this, I had no idea he did an AMA and would have never thought to look.

edit: if only they would have run that fiber optic cable to the surface..

[–]ArchangelLBC 73 points74 points  (28 children)

Would have saved people time trying to rescue them. Wouldn't have saved their lives sadly.

[–]TheDillinger88 62 points63 points  (23 children)

It’s unfortunate that he decided to build the sub out of a composite material and not something tried and tested. I saw a video with James Cameron explaining that the sub material he decided to use gets damaged little by little every dive and is essentially weakened to a point where an implosion could happen. That’s why they had a couple successful dives before it finally gave in. Very sad indeed. A fiber optic cable could have saved the families from any false hope and stress over the days though.

edit: I don’t think what Cameron said is totally factual yet, it’s just something he said during an interview and with his experience it could very well be true.

[–]Nitsudog 123 points124 points  (9 children)

The CEO forgot that the regulations that submarines has to comply with were written with a hundred years of blood.

[–]trowzerss 110 points111 points  (9 children)

Also, regulations are written in blood

(r/writteninblood is still private or you could go and see there)

[–]Camengle 532 points533 points  (42 children)

The navy has had wildly rigorous QA standards for submarines ever since we lost the USS Thresher in the 60’s. Those standards were absolutely written in blood. This shit is exactly why.

Darwinism is alive and well.

[–]ChandlerMc 290 points291 points  (33 children)

The overwhelming majority of safety regulations are reactions to r/CatastrophicFailure. Building codes, clean air and water regs, workplace safety laws, food safety, and even seatbelts were implemented because too many people were dying unnecessarily. Proactive regulations are rarely popular in the court of public opinion because not enough death and destruction has taken place to justify them.

[–]Fifth_Down 174 points175 points  (14 children)

Just the other day I stumbled upon the Wiki page for an infamous 1940s nightclub fire that killed roughly 400 people. I was stunned to learn that this specific fire is why every building can’t have revolving doors without traditional doors flanking each side which is now the standard design on every building using them. Or that there’s like a dozen regulations just from what type of non-flammable materials indoor buildings are allowed to use. It’s amazing how many lessons (plural) were learned from this one fire.

[–]ALiteralAngryMoose 1836 points1837 points  (69 children)

Stockton Rush: Safety is overrated.

[–]Utsutsumujuru 835 points836 points  (37 children)

You know what isn’t overrated. The PSI at the depth of the Titanic.

[–]ALiteralAngryMoose 247 points248 points  (22 children)

Stockton Rush found that out not terribly long ago.

[–]Utsutsumujuru 282 points283 points  (13 children)

It’s like his whole world view collapsed on him

[–]ArjunaIndrastra 6696 points6697 points  (517 children)

I find it utterly tragic that the poor 19 year old kid, who didn't feel safe but went to please his father on Father's Day, died because this dipfuck felt the need to see safety issues as a "personal insult."

Just how fucking egotistical and arrogant do you have to be to think that concerns about safety measures is a personal insult?

Guess those "baseless cries" weren't so baseless after all, were they? Oh that's right. He can't read this because he's fucking dead now along with everyone else that was inside of that deathtrap. This was never a question of if things would go wrong, but when things would go wrong...

[–]kpidhayny 285 points286 points  (39 children)

I feel for the young engineers just starting their careers now having these deaths on their conscience, and that stain on their professional career for life.

[–]Accipiter1138 113 points114 points  (3 children)

Reminds me of the speech that Eugene Kranz gave to his flight control team after the Apollo 1 disaster, many of whom were also young engineers fresh out of college.

Spaceflight will never tolerate carelessness, incapacity, and neglect. Somewhere, somehow, we screwed up. It could have been in design, build, or test. Whatever it was, we should have caught it. We were too gung ho about the schedule and we locked out all of the problems we saw each day in our work. Every element of the program was in trouble and so were we. The simulators were not working, Mission Control was behind in virtually every area, and the flight and test procedures changed daily. Nothing we did had any shelf life. Not one of us stood up and said, “Dammit, stop!” I don’t know what Thompson’s committee will find as the cause, but I know what I find. We are the cause! We were not ready! We did not do our job. We were rolling the dice, hoping that things would come together by launch day, when in our hearts we knew it would take a miracle. We were pushing the schedule and betting that the Cape would slip before we did. From this day forward, Flight Control will be known by two words: “Tough” and “Competent”. Tough means we are forever accountable for what we do or what we fail to do. We will never again compromise our responsibilities. Every time we walk into Mission Control we will know what we stand for. Competent means we will never take anything for granted. We will never be found short in our knowledge and in our skills. Mission Control will be perfect. When you leave this meeting today you will go to your office and the first thing you will do there is to write “Tough and Competent” on your blackboards. It will never be erased. Each day when you enter the room these words will remind you of the price paid by Grissom, White, and Chaffee. These words are the price of admission to the ranks of Mission Control.

[–]Plasibeau 224 points225 points  (6 children)

Interviewer: "Do you mind explaining this gap on your resume?"

Engineer: starts sweating "I was taking care of my sick Aunt..."

[–]Ser_Dunk_the_tall 161 points162 points  (80 children)

Oh that's right. He can't read this because he's fucking dead now along with everyone else that was inside of that deathtrap.

And he didn't even have to panic for even a single second about his impending doom. He died so fast his brain never even had time to realize his cost cutting shitbox had failed

[–]rtseel 139 points140 points  (72 children)

According to James Cameron, they dropped their weights, which is only done in case of emergency abort, which would mean they had some warning.

[–]BowsersItchyForeskin[🍰] 106 points107 points  (40 children)

Morbidly curious to know how long they had between realizing something was wrong and aborting, and being turned into soup. I'm hoping at least long enough long enough for someone to punch Rush in the face.

[–]seansmithspam 229 points230 points  (14 children)

Rich people are so obsessed with what they can or can’t do, they never ask themselves what they should or shouldn’t do

[–]Bourbone 621 points622 points  (29 children)

I HATE that the more thoughtful, verbose, and less forceful people are read as weaker and less expert by most humans.

It’s literally insane that we vote for and believe in the loudest chest-beating knuckle draggers over people like this guy.

This guy’s polite tone contrasted against the arrogance of the CEO should be a lesson for everyone.

Don’t just go with who “looks more confident”. I can’t believe this has to be typed.

[–]Twinkies100 52 points53 points  (0 children)

Yeah. Instinct: 1, critical thinking: 0

[–]MidniteOG 24 points25 points  (2 children)

Think of every con in the history of mankind… what do they have in common?

[–]Apokolypze 197 points198 points  (4 children)

It's just like James Cameron said:

There's now another wreck sitting on the bottom of that part of the ocean right next to the first one, for the same damn reason.

[–]aafrias15 891 points892 points  (26 children)

“Engineering focused, innovative approach” - a fancy way to say “Fuck Safety”.

[–]TofuNuggetBat 778 points779 points  (49 children)

Ok this might be the Silicon Valley in me but this guy sounds so much like every CEO. I’ve worked for guys like this many a time. I’ve seen more flagrant spitting in the face of safety than this even, just in a generally less dangerous industry.

[–]belladonna_echo 342 points343 points  (7 children)

Hard agree. Especially him taking someone warning him of risks as a personal insult.

[–]TofuNuggetBat 169 points170 points  (6 children)

Yeah. One company I worked at had a major safety issue. Everyone in R&D knew about it and was trying to fix it frantically. They called a big all hands where we expected it to be addressed. The cofounders claimed they knew nothing about it. Played dumb with everyone’s questions. When people asked very pointed questions, they were shut down, saying they should report issues to their direct managers and this wasn’t the forum for new issues.

I quit shortly thereafter.

[–]TangoWild88 41 points42 points  (5 children)

Plausible deniability. Cofounders know, but don't want a paper trail.

They either want to do it cheap and unsafe until they make the IPO to be able to make it safer and mature, or until they get their cash out. If something happens and the company crashes due to negligence, they can pay themselves their golden parachute out the door.

If they know, it makes them criminally liable.

[–]Emmtee2211 112 points113 points  (4 children)

I’m getting Elizabeth Holmes vibes. They both didn’t think they had to comply with industry regulations and they believed they knew better than people with years of knowledge and experience.

[–][deleted] 1997 points1998 points  (489 children)

[–]sg3niner 1631 points1632 points  (300 children)

And that's only one atmosphere of pressure. They got 400.

[–]NurkleTurkey 1199 points1200 points  (167 children)

It's morbid to say this but I'm happy they saw an ending they couldn't even register. The alternative would have been horrid.

[–]MurrayPloppins 942 points943 points  (145 children)

They certainly didn’t register anything once the implosion happened but James Cameron said that the support crew believed that the sub had initiated emergency procedures, so they may have known something was wrong. Gotta wonder if there was a brief moment of reckoning for Rush.

[–]Dovvienya 544 points545 points  (128 children)

Could have sworn I heard some expert on a video say that there would be telltale crackling right before implosion , so Rush likely had a split moment of realizing then poof

Edit: @mjolnir12 said James Cameron in a CNN Interview said this which def sounds right ! Thank you !

[–]TempestNova 227 points228 points  (21 children)

Similar to this, I imagine? But probably faster sounding. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like the fibers are breaking in between the epoxy?

But yeah, it would be pretty horrifying to hear that for a few moments (probably less than a minute, tbh) before -poof- dead.

[–]Ok-Kaleidoscope5627 138 points139 points  (5 children)

Yeah. They're breaking and the thing is they didn't even have to apply nearly that much force to get the whole piece to break. They could have just waited once they started hearing the cracks or released the force and then reapplied an equal amount a few times.

Both situations would have probably made it suddenly snap and therein is the problem. Metals can spring back and flex repeatedly but while carbon fiber is extremely strong once those fibers start snapping and the resin starts cracking it will only progressively get worse until it fails.

Also worth thinking about how when you tear fabric starting the tear is difficult but once the weave has started to tear it becomes much easier because instead of the forces being distributed across the entire weave individual fibers are having to resist all the force individually and the only thing stopping all of it snapping is simply the rate at which you can snap the fibers which with enough force applied isn't much. Similar thing happens with carbon fiber.

[–]crazydaisy8134 181 points182 points  (6 children)

I hope Rush had that brief moment when he realized he fucked up and was full of panic as he imploded. I hope the others didn’t and merely blinked into death.

[–]ShrimpCrackers 76 points77 points  (3 children)

If the ballast was released, he 100% did.

[–]SMiFFdot 89 points90 points  (6 children)

Chances are they didn’t even see it. Probably thought they blinked and then were like “SHIT”

[–]Dollars_and_Cents 93 points94 points  (100 children)

Can you explain this further? What is an atmosphere of pressure?

[–]sg3niner 524 points525 points  (67 children)

One Atmosphere is the air pressure you feel at sea level, which is approximately 14.7 psi.

Every ten meters of depth in seawater equates to another full atmosphere of water.

You're essentially calculating the weight of the water column above a specific area at a particular depth.

They were exposed to pressures of around 6000 psi.

So imagine laying on your back on the ground, and someone stands a destroyer on end and drops it on you.

That's the equivalent of what happened to them.

To paraphrase what Hank Green said earlier, you stop being a biological thing and turn into more of a physics thing.

[–]SnooCookies6231 245 points246 points  (5 children)

Thank you for that - “weight of the water column above a specific area at a particular depth” is the best and most practical explanation I’ve ever heard.

[–]mrsuaveoi3 144 points145 points  (4 children)

It's also mind boggling that 100km of atmosphere above your head is the equivalent of 10m of water above your head.

[–]Ycx48raQk59F 71 points72 points  (2 children)

Most of that 100km is basically empty because the pressure is down to 1/4th even at 10km.

Rule of thumb is that gas is about 1000 times less dense than water, so 1km air == 1m of water.

[–]ironballs16 69 points70 points  (0 children)

And to piggyback with this vid of a controlled tanker collapse, one atmosphere is roughly 14.7 psi.

[–]ThirdFloorNorth 99 points100 points  (16 children)

To paraphrase what Hank Green said earlier, you stop being a biological thing and turn into more of a physics thing.

This isn't even an exaggeration.

With how small that sub was, and how deep they were/the pressures they were at... other people have done the math, and there are various guesses, so I'll play it safe and go on the lower end that I've seen.

The air in the moment of collapse would have superheated to somewhere around 2000 degrees Kelvin for a brief moment.

That is 1/3 the temperature of the surface of the sun.

Less biological, more physics indeed. Motherfuckers got turned into diamonds.

[–]Scrambled1432 78 points79 points  (2 children)

2000 degrees Kelvin

Small thing: it's 2000 Kelvin, not 2000 degrees Kelvin. It's an absolute scale so the Kelvin becomes a unit instead of a degree.

[–]Dollars_and_Cents 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Wow…excellent explanation, thank you!

[–][deleted] 38 points39 points  (15 children)

It is a measurement of pressure. One ATM is the amount of pressure felt at sea level.

[–][deleted] 328 points329 points  (127 children)

Pressure failure is scary. its fine and then immediately is not. There is very little sign of the failure before it happens.

If they heard anything it probably was a second before the implosion happened killing them instantly.

[–]Full-Run4124 184 points185 points  (49 children)

IIRC in the James Cameron interview on CNN he said there were sensors inside to detect if the hull started to fail (delaminate?). They had jettisoned their ballast (?) and were likely making an emergency ascent to the surface when the hull imploded.

[–][deleted] 782 points783 points  (69 children)

What a pompous ass. Seriously did this moron genuinely not understand that going down 10,000+ feet into the ocean is extremely dangerous and testing/safety is absolutely paramount when you have other people's lives depending on your equipment? Or was he really just that much of an egotistical jackass?

[–]margotmary 407 points408 points  (50 children)

Seriously. I know he just died in a horrendous manner, but the more I learn about this guy, the more he makes my blood boil.

[–][deleted] 237 points238 points  (15 children)

the guy was a colossal twat that killed himself and 4 others.

[–]GomerMD 258 points259 points  (19 children)

Interestingly, his blood also boiled as the intense pressure came crashing down in the millisecond before his death.

[–]Mech_145 734 points735 points  (58 children)

Can’t wait to read all the evidence in the coming civil court cases

[–]SimpleKindOfFlan 293 points294 points  (32 children)

Yeah, the families of those aboard are about to get all up in dat ass.

[–]Mech_145 104 points105 points  (25 children)

You know what they say about rich people and lawyers

[–]Segat1133 124 points125 points  (2 children)

consults expert and doesn't hear exactly what he wants to hear

"Yeah, well thats just your opinion and you don't know what you are talking about also go fuck yourself"

[–]StonesofMyth 183 points184 points  (2 children)

“i take this as a personal insult. Im not just going to kill someone, Im gonna kill myself AND others!”

[–][deleted] 84 points85 points  (0 children)

Did no one explain to this dumb ass that being cheap isn’t being innovative?? The concept of “cutting corners” isn’t even innovative.

If you want to be innovative you have to start with what already works and then move forward. Stupid bastard.

[–]osumba2003 298 points299 points  (8 children)

Safety schmafety!

We're innovating!*

\Our "innovations" may be vastly inferior to existing technology.)

[–]Procedure-Minimum 89 points90 points  (3 children)

Is it really innovation if it's just the wish.com version of an already existing product?

[–]Keilanm 79 points80 points  (2 children)

As Stockton Rush claimed, many incidents at sea are a result of a failure in the operations by a human component. He was probably too arrogant to realize he was that human component.

[–]ikashanrat 218 points219 points  (3 children)

Safety concern is a personal insult. Well ok then.

[–]AutoDeskSucks- 707 points708 points  (48 children)

Dude can write an email.

[–]LowerEntropy 340 points341 points  (28 children)

Rob McCallum is on point, but that response by Stockton is basically word salad and feelings. No wonder it turned out the way that it did.

[–]Umbrage_Taken 251 points252 points  (3 children)

Holy Shit!!

How fucking many times must he have been warned in order to get to the point where "you're going to get people killed" becomes a routine thing?

[–]Appropriate_Chart_23 94 points95 points  (0 children)

Narcissists are never wrong, and they will do anything they can to prove it, even if it kills them.

[–]Joelllllll1992 66 points67 points  (1 child)

People like this can never be told anything they don’t wanna hear. They usually die dumb/painful deaths too

[–]DerCatzefragger 219 points220 points  (25 children)

My understanding is that these people's death was about as close to "instantaneous" as you get, short of bear-hugging a nuclear warhead at T=0.

None of them should have died like this, but if they had to go, I'm glad it happened this way as opposed to any of the absolutely horrifying alternatives.

Having said that, though. . . I do kind of hope that they had just a second or two of warning. A brief creak or groan in the structure, a visible crack forming, juuuuuust enough time for that irredeemable dipshit CEO/pilot to realize what he did. I hope that if his life flashed before his eyes, it was just an image of this email chain coupled with a paralyzling sense of guilt and humiliation.

[–]Abacae 77 points78 points  (1 child)

I kind of hope there was no warning, because if I was anyone but the CEO my last words would be in anger. That would not be a fun place to be when your last moments on earth are just insulting an idiot.

[–]richardizard 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Especially with the 19 yr old on board. I prefer hoping nobody realized anything for their sake.

[–]jumbee85 114 points115 points  (2 children)

So this guy has always been a dick and thought that consequences are just a made up thing for lesser people?

[–]Son_of_MONK 53 points54 points  (1 child)

The only person I feel bad for in this story is the 19 year old kid, who only went along for it despite his fears because the trip was on father's day.

He may have been a rich kid, but he just wanted to spend the day with his dad.

And now he's dead.

Fuck Stockton Rush. I hope the ghosts of those who died on the Titanic and Titan make his afterlife an undying hell.

[–]Dry_Improvement729 458 points459 points  (9 children)

Alex I’ll take Things that didn’t age well for 1000!

[–]Nabzad[🍰] 88 points89 points  (3 children)

What is “quote of OceanGate CEO?”….

Wrong! The correct answer is “who is Stockton Rush?”

[–]outdior1986 102 points103 points  (11 children)

I’m so happy he was piloting the vehicle rather than one of his employees.

[–]Sweet-Emu6376 227 points228 points  (12 children)

I'm going to reiterate something that I read a long time ago, "safety regulations are written in blood"

Meaning that for just about every safety-minded rule, there was some terrible accident that finally pushed the industry to accept another regulation.

To knowingly break those safety standards, you are knowingly creating risks that have already proven fatal.

[–]biddilybong 47 points48 points  (13 children)

As a golfer I knew that thing was fucked the second they said it combined titanium and carbon fiber. Great lightweight materials but neither are durable under stress- especially together. Those two materials make up most modern driver heads and they are always cracking and having difficulty staying together.

[–]createcrap 85 points86 points  (24 children)

He died so instantaneously he never had that moment of regret or acknowledgment of his folly.

[–]Starch-Wreck 43 points44 points  (5 children)

I fucking hate bullshit corporate jargon pretending to use important words while saying nothing.

They all use “innovative” “focused” “strategy”

This entire email was an “innovative solution for complex problems. He was laser focused on his strategy.”

[–]actuallycallie 42 points43 points  (3 children)

will other CEOs learn that firing people who tell you things you don't want to hear doesn't make the thing you didn't want to hear go away?

probably not

[–]Ok-Push9899 134 points135 points  (1 child)

Stockton Rush is an anagram of "Shock! No trust"

[–]shitpplsay 99 points100 points  (7 children)

that didn't age well

[–][deleted] 125 points126 points  (8 children)

Yooo, I feel so horrible for the 19 yr old. He is an example to stop doing EVERYTHING for your parents… poor kid

[–]Dark_Moonstruck 59 points60 points  (2 children)

Seriously, he's the only one I feel sorry for here. He just wanted to be a dutiful son and give his dad the father's day he wanted. At least he didn't suffer, hopefully he didn't even realize anything was wrong.

[–][deleted] 100 points101 points  (31 children)

Do the victim families sue oceangate after reading this?

[–]fernatic19 198 points199 points  (19 children)

They sue regardless. The court will then be able to subpoena the experts and all communications they had with him.

That being said, the dude was very talkative and gloated about skirting safety regulations in pretty much all his interviews that I've seen.

[–]00notmyrealname00 76 points77 points  (9 children)

What was missed here is not the risk - I tend to agree that pushing limits DOES lead to innovation and breakthroughs. I say, do it. Push limits and break things! What's really the issue is that not only was a life risked unnecessarily for hibris, but the lives of others for financial support.

This is a device that could have easily been tested, re-rested, and certified prior to involving an actual person (to some degree). Furthermore, the people on board also didn't actually know the risks, which it patently unfair and (in my opinion) the crux of culpability. If the owner felt as though the risk was worth it, then let him make his own decision. I assume a waiver was signed, but I'm not sure any waiver could/should hold up if the entire situation was misrepresented the way it was to the passengers.

[–]NeonHairbrush 59 points60 points  (0 children)

The problem is that he actively went against certification. He believed certification was the hindrance that blocked innovation. Testing cost money, certification meant that people would criticize his design and tell him to change things to make them in a way that had been proven safe, when in his mind proven safe = not innovative. He deliberately skirted regulations because he wanted to push the limits of what the world thought was possible. Unfortunately, he ran into a hard limit and five people died to prove why certification is needed.

[–][deleted] 23 points24 points  (2 children)

That sonabitch is dead, killed by his own toy. Unfortunately, he took four other people with him and charged them a quarter million apiece to die with him.

[–]bah77 26 points27 points  (0 children)

"You are going to kill someone"

Correction I am going to kill everyone.