Stockton Rush planned to die in Titan to become part of 'Titanic mythology', his friend claims

Stockton Rush, the man behind the doomed Titan submersible expedition, planned to kill himself during the dive to the Titanic wreckage, according to his close friend, Karl Stanley. Rush died when the Titan submersible imploded during the dive in 2023, killing four others on board. Now Stanley, one of Rush's close friends, has claimed that he had a plan when he got on the submersible.

Talking to Matthew Gavin Frank for his new book, Submersed: Wonder, Obsession and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines, the 59-year-old claimed that he wanted to etch his name into the Titanic's mythology. He was reportedly related through marriage to Titanic victims Isidor and Ida Straus, and wanted to make his death historic in a similar way.

Rush wanted to go down in history

"Rush's ego was so big, he was willing to die and kill to be pivotal to the character of this story," he said, according to The Daily Mail. Calling Rush a "murderer", he said that he "wanted to go [die] at the wreck [of the Titanic]. The more high-profile, the better." Rush "didn't just murder four wealthy people and get paid a cool mill to do it — they are all part of the Titanic mythology now."

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Titan imploded while going to the Titanic wreckage on June 18, 2023, killing all five people aboard. British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman, were among the victims.

Stanley claims Rush knew it was Titan's last dive

According to the outlet, 12 days after the accident, Stanley messaged Frank, claiming that Rush knew that this would be Titan's last trip. He further claims that Rush named the submersible after the British ocean liner Titan in Morgan Robertson's 1898 novella Futility. In the book, the ship sinks in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg.

Also Read: Titan submersible implosion: US Coast Guard releases haunting audio from tragedy that killed 5, including OceanGate CEO

Rush wanted to enter history books, adding his name next to the Titanic somehow, Stanley claims. So he "needed to compel more than just his own death". He “fabricated a 'futile' vessel, costumed in a Titanic name, as his murder weapon.”

Stanley said he heard noises during a dive in 2019

Stanley, who is an expert in commercial submersibles, said that he warned Rush about "gunshot-like noises coming from the sub" after joining him on the dive in 2019. But he says Rush did not want any criticism and refused to postpone dives to the Titanic until the issue could be fixed. "I value your experience and advice on many things, but not on the assessment of carbon fibre pressure hulls… I hope you, of all people, will think twice before expressing opinions on subjects in which you are not fully versed," Rush reportedly wrote in an email.

Stanley had told the US Coast Guard's inquiry the same thing last year, stating he knew Titan would one day turn into a catastrophe.