In July 2023, the submersible Titan met its horrific fate when it suddenly imploded underwater. It resulted in the death of all 5 of its passengers. Father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood were on board, along with Hamish Harding, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Stockton Rush.
Rush was one of the co-founders and CEO of OceanGate, with Guillermo Söhnlein. At the time of his death, he was 61 years old. According to CNN, Rush loved nature and had a knack for exploring the unknown. A few months before the tragedy, he appeared in an interview with St John’s Radio. There, he joked about “what could go wrong” in the expedition, which has raised a few eyebrows.
He had further told in his interview that many would not risk the trip. Yet, he went ahead since he would enjoy the thrill of driving the vessel. Rush said, “For many it’s haunting. When I’m down there driving the sub, it’s a different experience for me… I don’t get to absorb it until I get to the surface.”
Rush cofounded OceanGate with Söhnlein in 2009. The company’s mission was “increasing access to the deep ocean through innovation.”
The U.K.’s Channel 5 recently aired a documentary that showcased the OceanGate disaster in detail. Titled Minute by Minute: The Titan Sub Disaster, its synopsis read, “A year on from the tragedy, Minute by Minute: The Titan Sub Disaster produced by ITN Productions for Channel 5 in the UK creates a detailed picture of events leading up to Titan’s ill-fated expedition to the Titanic wreck and asks what lessons can be learned.”
What happened to Stockton Rush?
None of Titan’s passengers survived, including Stockton Rush. After his passing, OceanGate released a statement expressing their condolences for Rush and every other victim’s family. The statement read, “We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost. These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans.”
It further read, “Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.”
Stockton Rush was born in San Francisco, California, on March 31, 1962. Since childhood, he has been interested in adventure. Also, he wanted to be an astronaut. In 2017, he told Fast Company magazine, “I wanted to be the first person on Mars.”
According to The New York Times, Stockton Rush became a skilled pilot at 19. However, he had no choice but to abandon his Martian dream upon learning of his poor eyesight. Interestingly, Rush saw potential in underwater travel. Rush was a visionary who didn’t fear risk.
In a 2022 interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, he stated that breaking a few rules was necessary to yield rewards from risks. He said, “I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed. Don’t get in your car. Don’t do anything. At some point, you’re going to take some risk, and it really is a risk-reward question. I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules.”
Stockton Rush married Wendy Weil in 1986. She is the great-great-granddaughter of Isidor and Ida Straus, a wealthy couple who died in the sinking of the Titanic.
