A father and son who gave up both of their tickets for the doomed Titan submersible said OceanGate’s CEO flew on a “test plane” to persuade them to buy tickets.
Financier Jay Bloom had refused tickets for himself and his son Sean to board the sub, fearing they would not survive the trip.
Speaking to NewsNation, Bloom said concerns were raised after Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, who coordinated the trip, flew to Las Vegas to convince him to board a “test plane.”
Blood told the news channel, “It was very concerning.” The biggest red flag for my son came when Stockton visited me in Las Vegas in March.
“He said he flew in in a two-seater experimental plane that he built, so he was coming to Las Vegas on an experimental plane that he built to board me in an experimental submarine that he built to to take me to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.” .’
Bloom, pictured here, had contemplated joining the doomed submersible, but big warning signs prompted him to abandon the adventure
Jay Bloom and his son Sean (pictured together) were about to embark on the doomed Titanic voyage – and were even offered a last-minute discount
The Titan submersible, pictured here, imploded earlier this week with five men on board
Bloom continued, “It’s kind of surreal.” Every time I see an image of the people who lost their lives in that tragic event.
“I look at the picture of the father and son who replaced my son and I and think how easily our picture could have been in the news if it weren’t for the grace of God.”
“When Stockton first approached me with the idea, it sounded very sexy, very exciting, a real bucket list item.”
“My son is a huge Titanic fan, so I thought it would be great if we did something together.” The appeal of the proposal is so compelling.
“My son spoke to his friend and they expressed concerns about the ship, the marine life and some of the materials used in construction.”
Bloom had previously exchanged text messages between him and Rush, which revealed that he and his son were offered a “last-minute price” of $150,000 a head for the trip.
In a Facebook post, he said: “I raised safety concerns and Stockton told me, ‘While there’s obviously a risk, it’s a lot safer than flying a helicopter or even scuba diving.’
“He absolutely believed it was safer than crossing the street.” I’m sure he really believed what he said. But he was very wrong.
Mr Bloom said: “I told him we couldn’t go until next year due to scheduling issues.” Our places went to Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman Dawood, two of the other three who lost their lives on that outing, who fifth was Hamish Harding.
Mr Rush speaks to Mr Bloom about taking part in his company’s trip to the Titanic wreck
Less than two hours after diving to the shipwreck last Sunday, the submarine with five people on board lost communications with its operator OceanGate Expeditions.
A large-scale rescue operation involving planes and a fleet of ships had been moved to the area 400 miles southeast of Newfoundland, Canada, because the submarine was running low on oxygen supplies.
It was announced on Thursday that the five men on board were killed instantly after the submersible suffered a “catastrophic implosion”.
Aboard the ship was one of Pakistan’s wealthiest men, Shahzada Dawood, along with his son Suleman, British billionaire Hamish Harding, CEO Rush and French explorer Paul-Henry Nargeolet.
The search for the men of the 21-foot submarine ended disastrously when a remote-controlled submarine belonging to a Canadian ship found debris on the seabed.
French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet (left) was on the submarine with Stockton Rush (right), CEO of OceanGate Expedition
Five people were on board, including British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding (left) and Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Suleman
“The implosion would have produced a distinct, broadband noise that the sonar buoys would have picked up,” US Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said at a news conference today.
It would have been instant death for the men, some of whom had paid $250,000 each to see the famous shipwreck.
It’s a heavy blow to their families, experts say, and there’s little prospect of their remains being recovered.
“It’s an incredibly harsh environment down there.” “The debris indicates a catastrophic implosion of the ship. We’ll keep working and scanning the area down there — but I don’t have an answer on the prospects at this time,” Paul Hankin, a deep-sea expert involved in the study, said.