this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2023
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Film director James Cameron has expertise in designing and testing these submersibles, and he has many criticisms of the design of the sub that imploded, and of the hubris of the CEO who ignored repeated safety warnings from the diving community. He also mentions that the sub seems to have been attempting to resurface when it imploded, suggesting that they were aware the hull was starting to fail.

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[–] [email protected] 48 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Hubris is the word.

The CEO Stockton Rush, just off the top of my head:

  • Fired his own director of marine operations for formally reporting “numerous issues that posed serious safety concerns". These included that the viewport was only rated to 1,300 meters, the carbon fiber hull had flaws which gave it the potential to fail, and that the hull integrity monitoring systems installed in response "might only provide 'milliseconds' of warning before a catastrophic implosion".
  • Refused to submit to an industry certification process for the sub, despite being warned in an open letter with dozens of signatories that failing to do so risked "negative outcomes (from minor to catastrophic)".
  • Denounced the laws regulating submarine tourism as having "needlessly prioritized passenger safety over commercial innovation".
[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Denounced the laws regulating submarine tourism as having “needlessly prioritized passenger safety over commercial innovation”.

He was a consistent Republican donor, apparently, so probably a devotee of the "regulations are holding back innovation" religion. In other words, "I want to cut costs and make more profit, so I'd rather risk people's lives than spend money to protect them."

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (2 children)

He died like he lived, shirking safety in the name of commercialization.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

he never thought the leopards would eat his own face.

or he never thought his sub would be his coffin.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Well, he put his mouth^(and the rest of his head) where his money was...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Like that flat earther that made a steam powered rocket (not that high) to try and prove the earth is flat via that (somehow?) Ended up going downwards very fast with nothing stopping him except the solid Earth.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

As I recall, he literally said regulations were holding back innovation for submersibles.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This trend of companies firing the person responsible for giving safety warnings is really troubling, and I'm concerned that our whole planet is going to go down like that someday.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Don't worry, the planet's gonna be fine.

Humanity on the other hand...

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (2 children)

"The planet," in terms of a rock orbiting the Sun, sure, but we are killing an awful lot of flora and fauna that would be doing fine if we weren't around to fuck things up.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Life always finds a way. At least until the moon has drifted so far from our orbit that our atmosphere is no longer sustainable and the oceans boil off the surface of the planet.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Life always finds a way.

Are you sure? Even if it's true, I like the life forms we've got right now an awful lot, and they don't deserve what we're doing to them.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Just nudge the moon back like that asteroid we slammed the thing into.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Yes and the 6th mass extinction event is well underway. Still, the planet's life forms bounced back before and will do so again, I guess.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (3 children)

needlessly prioritized passenger safety over commercial innovation

Gosh, I can't imagine something as minor as passenger safety being important... Seriously, is this guy real or is it three psychopaths in a trenchcoat?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Currently neither, just some small squashed pieces on the ocean floor

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Seriously, is this guy real or

He was real. Is he still real, as a mangled corps? Probably a matter of definition...

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

He is still real, in the hearts of many other CEOs.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Who knows with him.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"might only provide 'milliseconds'

"Don't give me your mumbo-jumbo Mister Scientist - will the alarm go off or not?!"

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

How do you know a granade is about to explode?

... it buckles and starts cracking at the shell...

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

At least he wasn't a hypocrite about regulations.