A video of the late Oceangate CEO Stockton Rush admitting to not knowing how to operate the controller on the Titan submersible has resurfaced.
In the wake of the sub tragedy that claimed the life of Rush and other four passengers last month, a clip of the CEO trying to control the vessel after it went down with a misaligned thruster has gone viral.
The moment is from a 2022 documentary for the BBC called The Travel Show, showing Rush trying to identify a problem with the mothership on the surface after the pilot, Scott Griffith, observed the submersible spinning strangely during the launch.
In the video, Scott can be seen shrugging and telling passengers 'they checked it and it seemed good', as he explains that the vessel's controls were not working, assuming a problem with the thruster could have been the cause of the unusual spinning.
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"When I'm thrusting forwards, one of the thrusters is thrusting backwards. Now the only thing I can do right now is a 360," he said in the clip.
The CEO suggested remapping the submersible's controller, calling a colleague with advice about "remapping the PS3 controller".
Then, Rush appeared to be confused as to how use the controller, admitting: "Yeah, but I don't remember which is up and down."
Rush's colleague suggestion worked and the Titan could complete its voyage to the bottom of the ocean, with Griffith able to bring its passengers to see the wreck of the sunken Titanic.
The panicky moment alerted some passengers nonetheless.
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"I was thinking, we're not going to make it!" Renata Rojas, who had wanted to see the Titanic since she was a child, told the documentary crew.
"We're literally 300 meters from Titanic and although we're in the debris field, we can't go anywhere but go in circles."
Rush was among the five victims of the Titan tragic implosion on June 18. Other passengers aboard the vessel were father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood, British billionaire Hamish Harding and French sub-pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet, all presumed dead after debris was discovered near the wreck following several days of research.
OceanGate has ceased all operations in the aftermath of the implosion, with the accident raising concerns about the safety of submersible trips.
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There is currently an investigation underway to determine how exactly the vessel imploded, with the police not ruling out criminal charges.
Experts are at work to examine large fragments of the vessel, including structural titanium rings, parts of the front viewport, large fragments of the covering of the submersible, as well as tubes and piping encased in a metal cage.
Stefania Sarrubba