- Karl Stanley, a submersible expert, said he heard cracking noises while on a Titan dive in 2019.
- He told OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush in an email that such noises could panic passengers.
- Stanley said the submersible should be tested more before bringing paying passengers on board.
Karl Stanley, a submersibles expert who was a friend of Stockton Rush, told the OceanGate CEO that paying passengers could "panic" if they heard the same cracking sounds he heard on a Titan dive in 2019, according to an email exchange obtained by Insider.
Rush was among the five people aboard the Titan when it went missing on a voyage to the Titanic shipwreck on June 18. Last week, the US Coast Guard announced that pieces of the Titan had been found, suggesting that everyone on board died after the submersible catastrophically imploded. "Presumed human remains" were recovered Wednesday, the Coast Guard said.
Rush and his company previously came under scrutiny when Stanley and other industry experts accused OceanGate of ignoring safety warnings.
Stanley rode on the Titan in a dive off the coast of the Bahamas in 2019, during which the submersible was making a cracking noise that alarmed him, according to the emails.
In emails to Rush, Stanley expressed concern about the noise and the integrity of the hull, saying that the submersible needed much more testing before Rush considered bringing on paying passengers for six-figure tickets.
"As a mental exercise, let's assume that by monitoring the noises the hull makes you can know the hull was going to fail in time to react," Stanley told Rush, "and let's also assume that your customers will all be OK with the kinds of sounds we were hearing and accept your explanations and be able to quell their sense of panic that will result from hearing breaking sounds 2 miles under water."
"Do you think that the entire system is dialed in enough, the bugs worked out, that you have a fair chance of even 3 consecutive dives without loosing major systems?" Stanley asked, adding, "you are not there yet."
Stanley did not immediately respond to an email for comment.
It's unclear whether the Titan passengers heard any noises before the submersible catastrophically imploded. The vessel lost contact with its surface ship less than two hours into the 13,000-foot dive to the Titanic.
OceanGate did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
James Cameron, the diving expert who directed the "Titanic," said the passengers probably knew the hull was "starting to crack" because OceanGate installed sensors to detect such incidents.
"And I think, if that's your idea of safety, then you're doing it wrong," Cameron said.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufony0wM6coq2nnmK%2Ftr%2FHZp2roZWjsW7DwKulnpxdqba1rc1mqq6aXZjCtMDOppyrq12lrq%2B1wmaZq52RoLavs4yspq6mlKh6c3yRbGRv