A Sorrowful Epilogue

We now have more information regarding the fate of the Titan, the tiny

submersible craft built by Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, the

company he founded to enable oceanic exploration. Interviews and 

e-mails with employees revealed how OceanGate ignored repeated,

dire, desperate warnings from both inside and outside the company.

Some said it was a death trap; one said it was "a lemon". 

CEO Rush has been described as arrogant, and had paid no heed to 

the many warnings he received as to the safety of his craft, so much

so that crew member Brian Weed was reportedly greatly disturbed by

Rush's response to emergency protocols which suggested death would

be inevitable if  the craft was not found, that the entire crew would be 

lost. Rush refused to have his untested designs inspected, let alone

certified. His dismissive remark toward it all was, "You're dead 

anyway". 

The Titan imploded, killing all five crew aboard --- Rush and his

crewmates. An implosion is, of course, the opposite of an explosion,

with the object collapsing in on itself in a matter of milliseconds. 

The submersible craft suffered a catastrophic implosion, which likely

happened with unbelievable force and speed given the crushing water

pressure of the ocean floor, even being just two-thirds of the way down 

to where the Titanic rests. The amount of pressure is estimated by 

scientists to be approximately 250 - 280 times the surface pressure

at sea level; an implosion at this depth would prove extremely quick.

Although it will not be of much comfort to the families and friends 

of the dead crew members, it is highly unlikely that they suffered 

much or at all when the craft imploded, according to scientific and

medical experts. 

The "Potential Failure Points" of the Titan were these: The carbon  

fiber hull was made of composite material which was "fundamentally 

flawed". OceanGate's CEO Rush even admitted that his company broke 

the design "rule". The safety monitoring system would only detect 

anything amiss "milliseconds before an implosion". 

Titan's acrylic viewport was certified only to a depth of approximately

4,300 feet; the Titanic is at a depth of 12,500 feet. OceanGate could 

have had the craft's manufacturer meet the required depth but  

"refused to pay" for this safety measure. Rush has also made 

negative remarks regarding regulations of design for the safety of such

crafts, questioning the necessity of many of them. The Peasant is   

no fan of "red tape"; I am a fan, though, of common sense regulations

which promote the protection of lives. The hubris exhibited by  

Stockton Rush he paid for with his life, and the terrible cost of 

his hubris was imposed upon the other four crew members aboard  

the Titan.

There is a bitter lesson to be learned from this tragedy. Failure to 

do so will cost more lives. Boundless arrogance and hubris are 

certainly two things to be eschewed and avoided at all costs.

The Peasant wishes to thank Dr. Chris Raynor, Orthopedic Surgeon 

and expert on the effects that ocean subsurface pressure have on the 

human body who explained in detail the way in which the crew of the

Titan had perished. He produced an explanatory video breaking down 

what had happened aboard the craft. It can be seen on YouTube.

MEM