Father and son who gave up last seats on doomed submarine say CEO flew on plane to convince them
A father and son who gave up their two tickets on the doomed Titan submarine say OceanGate’s CEO flew in an “experimental” plane to convince them to buy tickets.
Financier Jay Bloom had turned down tickets for him and his son Sean aboard the submarine, fearing they would not survive the journey.
Speak against NewsNationBloom said concerns were raised after OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, who was coordinating the trip, flew to Las Vegas to convince him to board an “experimental plane.”
Blood told the news channel: “It was very concerning. The big red flag for my son was when Stockton came to see me in Las Vegas in March.
“He said he flew in a two-seat experimental plane he built, so he came to Las Vegas on an experimental plane he built to take me on an experimental submarine he built to take me to the bottom of the bring the Atlantic Ocean. .’
Bloom, pictured here, had considered going on the doomed submarine, but major red flags caused him to pull out of the adventure
Jay Bloom and his son Sean (pictured together) were about to take the doomed Titan voyage to the Titanic – and were even offered a last-minute discount
The Titan submarine, pictured here, imploded earlier this week with five men on board
Bloom continued, “It’s kind of surreal. Every time I see a picture of the people who lost their lives in this tragic event.
“I look at the picture of the father and son who replaced my son and myself and think how easily, without the grace of God, our picture could have been on the news.
“When Stockton first approached me with the idea, it sounded very sexy, very exciting, a real bucket list item.
‘My son is a huge fan of the Titanic, so I thought it would be great to do something together. The appeal of the proposal is so compelling.
“My son talked to his friend and they expressed their concerns about the ship, the marine life, some of the materials used in its construction.”
Bloom had previously shared text messages between him and Rush showing how he and his son were offered a “last minute prize” of $150,000 per head to make the trip.
In a Facebook post, he said: “I raised my safety concerns and Stockton told me, ‘While there are risks of course, it is much safer than flying in a helicopter or even scuba diving'”.
‘He was firmly convinced that it was safer than crossing the road. I’m sure he really believed what he said. But he was completely wrong.”
Mr Bloom said: ‘I told him we can’t go until next year due to scheduling. Our seats went to Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood, two of the other three who lost their lives on this excursion, the fifth being Hamish Harding.
Mr. Rush speaks to Mr. Bloom about participating in one of his company’s trips to the Titanic wreck
The submarine lost communication with its operator, OceanGate Expeditions, less than two hours after its dive to the shipwreck last Sunday, with five people on board.
A large-scale rescue operation involving aircraft and a fleet of vessels had scrambled to the area 400 miles southeast of Newfoundland, Canada, as oxygen supplies in the submarine dwindled.
It was announced on Thursday that the five men on board died instantly after the submarine suffered a “catastrophic implosion.”
One of Pakistan’s richest men, Shahzada Dawood, was aboard the ship alongside his son Suleman, British billionaire Hamish Harding, CEO Rush and French explorer Paul-Henry Nargeolet.
The search for the men of the 21ft submarine came to a devastating end when a Canadian ship’s remote-controlled submarine found debris on the ocean floor.
French Navy veteran PH Nargeolet (left) sat on the submarine with Stockton Rush (right), CEO of the OceanGate Expedition
There were five people on board, including British billionaire adventurer Hamish Harding (left) and Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, who was just 19.
“The implosion would have produced significant broadband noise that the sonar buoys would have picked up,” US Coast Guard Vice Admiral John Mauger said at a news conference today.
It would have been instant death for the men, some of whom paid $250,000 each to see the famous shipwreck.
In a heartbreaking blow to their families, experts say there is little chance of recovering any of their remains.
“This is an incredibly brutal environment down there. The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the ship. We will continue to work and search the area down there – but I don’t have an answer to the outlook at this point,” said Paul Hankin, a deep-sea expert involved in the quest said.