OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush Admits Titan was Struck by Lightning in 2018

OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush admitted in a 2020 interview that the doomed submersible Titan was severely damaged after it was struck by lightning two years prior.

In the resurfaced interview, he explained the Titan suffered an indirect lightning strike in the Bahamas during a test dive in late April 2018.

"Fortunately, it was not a direct strike," he told Teledyne Marine vice president Matt Burdyny during that interview. "A direct strike to the carbon fiber probably would have taken us totally out."

While the interview was deleted from the Teledyne website, copies were uploaded to YouTube.

Rush became notorious after he and four other people were killed in a "catastrophic implosion" aboard the Titan while diving to see the wreck of the Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The other passengers who perished aboard were Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Hamish Harding.

Titan Struck by Lightning

In a May 2018 Instagram post, OceanGate said its deep sea testing happened in late April near Marsh Harbor in the Bahamas. "Upon arrival, the sub's electronics sustained lightning damage that affected over 70% of its internal systems," the firm added.

The strike led to a postponement of a Titanic Survey Expedition, with Rush commenting at that time while the delay was disappointing, his company was "not willing to shortcut the testing process due to a condensed timeline."

In the Teledyne interview, Rush appeared to be unfazed by the setback, claiming the Titan's damaged parts were replaced within "a couple of days," yet he admitted they continued to "have issues on connectors [and] penetrators wiring."

Rush Did Not Heed to Warnings

The ill-fated CEO was previously warned about the cracking sounds a submersible expert heard during one of the Titan's dives in the Bahamas in 2019 but to no avail.

In 2018, the chair of the Marine Technology Society's manned underwater vehicles committee drafted a letter to Rush alleging there were potentially "catastrophic" consequences associated with OceanGate's approach, reported The New York Times.

It was also revealed during a dive in 2021 that the Titan lost its propulsion system during the descent. Rush reportedly aborted the trip but could not release the sub's "drop-weight mechanism". According to Bill Price, a passenger during that trip, he and his fellow passengers were instructed by Rush to rock the sub so the weights would drop off and they could return to the surface.

Subway Store in GA Slammed for 'Our Subs Don't Implode' Joke

Meanwhile, a Subway outlet in Rincon, Georgia was criticized for its "distasteful" slogan on the store's marquee signage, which many believe was a joke about the Titan's implosion.

"Our subs don't implode," the message board read.

A number of people took the matter to social media by posting photos and videos of the signage. They said the message was insensitive to those who died in the tragedy, as well as their loved ones.

"Not only is this distasteful," a certain Amanda Butler said on Twitter, "it's just sad. Do better."

Eventually, the store removed the signage, local station WTOC reported, but the manager of the Subway location would not provide further comment.

Subway's corporate headquarters have since issued a statement saying they have already contacted the store in question and have the sign removed. "[We] made it clear that this kind of comment has no place in our business," the statement added.

Netflix was also slammed for a similar stint a few days ago after it announced it would bring the 1997 James Cameron film "Titanic" to its platform beginning July 1.

Variety later reported the release of the film on Netflix was scheduled prior to the tragedy and that its release date following the tragedy was completely coincidental.

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Titan, Titanic, Subway