Was Stockton Rush devising a 'mouse-trap' for the rich? OceanGate CEO's friend divulges

While the deadly implosion of OceanGate's Titan submersible last month came as a shock to some, one submarine operator knew that the vessel meeting a tragic end would be inevitable. Karl Stanley, a close friend of Stockton Rush, accused the late OceanGate CEO of leading wealthy clients to a fatal "mouse trap."

In a conversation with 60 Minutes Australia, Stanley revealed that he was one of the first passengers who rode on the Titan during a test in 2019 and Rush had malicious intentions from the start. “Stockton was designing a mouse trap for billionaires," he said, adding that the CEO was willing to go to all lengths to gain recognition, even if it meant risking people's lives.

“The only question is, ‘When?’ He was risking his life and his customers’ lives to go down in history. He’s more famous now than anything else he would’ve done. He quite literally and figuratively went out with the biggest bang in human history that you could go out with, and who was the last person to murder two billionaires at once, and have them pay for the privilege?” Stanley continued. 

Rush's friend recalls terrifying 2019 test dive

Recalling the 12,000-foot test dive in the Bahamas four years ago, the submarine expert said that he could hear the vessel practically cracking, with “loud, gunshot-like noises" being heard "every three to four minutes.” “That’s a heck of a sound to hear when you’re that far under the ocean in a craft that’s only been down that deep once before,” he explained. 

When questioned about what could have been the reason behind the Titan's catastrophic implosion in June, Rush's friend asserted: “There’s no doubt in my mind that it was the carbon fiber tube that was the mechanical part that failed.” While his claims may be explosive, this isn't the first time that the late CEO of the company has been accused of recklessness. 

Patrick Lahey, president of Triton Submarines and a friend of late Titan passenger Paul-Henri Nargeolet, claimed that Rush had embarked on a “predatory” hunt for affluent clientele. “He could even convince someone who knew and understood the risks … it was really quite predatory,” Lahey told the Times.