Stockton Rush used carbon fiber in its submarine - although experts consider this dangerous.

DLNews Technology:

Stockton Rush († 61) wanted to go down in history as an engineer – and even accepted death for it …

Because the submarine of the "OceanGate" boss was full of defects, Rush had not only installed the eponymous metal titanium but, above all, carbon fiber. But with the material - in contrast to titanium - it has yet to be made clear to what extent it can withstand the massive pressure underwater.

Despite its name, the "Titan" was mostly made of carbon fiber.

Titanium, which is rust-free, can also corrode when combined with carbon fiber. Scientists speak of galvanic corrosion. There is, therefore, a consensus among submarine inventors and engineers to refrain from using carbon fiber.

The "OceanGate" boss did it anyway. Apparently, out of vanity, as a video that has now surfaced suggests. Sitting in his Titan, Stockton Rush says, “I'd like to be remembered as an inventor. I think General MacArthur said, 'You'll be remembered for the rules you broke.' And I broke some rules to build this. I think I broke them with logic and good engineering in the back. With carbon fiber and titanium, there's a rule you don't do that — well, I did it.”

It is still unclear why the "Titan" imploded on the way to the Titanic wreck. One thing is sure: there have been security concerns for years. One of the "OceanGate" managers, David Lochridge, had already warned in 2018 that the built-in carbon fiber had "visible" defects. As thanks, Stockton Rush fired him.

That same year, several deep-sea experts wrote a passionate letter to Rush, urging him to have his “Titan” tested for deep-sea suitability by an independent testing sea company. The OceanGate boss responded bluntly: "I'm fed up with industry representatives who want to use security as an argument to stifle innovation."

And further: "I am qualified enough to understand the risks and problems that arise when exploring the deep sea with a new vehicle," he wrote confidently in an email obtained by the "BBC."

The "Titan" was never tested by an independent testing company for its suitability for deep sea - as the only commercial submarine.

The passengers Sulemann (19) and his father Shahzada Dawood (48), Hamish Harding (58), Paul-Henry Nargeolet (73) - and Stockton Rush himself - paid for these high spirits with their lives.