[PSUBS-MAILIST] Karl's FB post

Fri Jun 23 07:54:35 EDT 2023

 I questioned Stanley about this on FB and didn't understand his response, maybe someone here can clarify.  His message to Rush is dated 2019 and I found a news article from 2020 that indicates Rush downrated that vessel to 3000 meters due to "cyclic fatigue".  It indicates he was building a new Titan vessel to dive Titanic.  Seems obvious Rush didn't resolve the cyclic fatigue issue with the new vessel but I also think Stanley's message gives the impression that the same vessel he complained about was the one that was lost.  Maybe I'm splitting hairs.
Jon

    On Friday, June 23, 2023 at 07:27:33 AM EDT, Alec Smyth via Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:  

 For those not on Facebook, Karl Stanley made a post I think is incredibly revealing, and which ought to go straight into any lawsuit or documentary about this episode. He mentioned it's good to share, so here you go.
---------------------- pasted ---------------------------
This is what I wrote Stockton hours after I did the dive in the Bahamas- 
Karl Stanley <subkarl at gmail.com>
Apr 18, 2019, 11:44 AM
to Stockton

Stockton,
Thanks again for the amazing opportunity you afforded me yesterday.
While I know we have a special connection running "sister subs" , the quality of the work I did for you in WA was excellent, and you enjoyed reading my exchange with Bruce Jones, I think the main reason I got this opportunity to dive might have the most to do with if there was such a thing as "expert in risk assessment in one-off , uncertifiable deep sea manned vehicles" my resume is hard to beat, and you know we are like minded when it comes to judging how far things can safely be pushed.
As such this is my opinion / analysis of what I have seen here.
 While I think your concept of RTA is sound, I am not sure it applies in this case. The sounds we observed yesterday do not seem consistent with glue joints breaking, air cavities breaking, or the random weak fiber breaking. What we heard, in my opinion, and I think after the discussion Joel and I had last night, I can say he shares this opinion, sounded like a flaw/ defect in one area being acted on by the tremendous pressures and being crushed/ damaged.  From the intensity of the sounds , the fact that they never totally stopped at depth, and the fact that there were sounds at about 300 feet that indicated a relaxing of stored energy /would indicate that there is an area of the hull that is breaking down/ getting spongy.  
I understand you are under enormous pressure from investors, people that have been waiting to go, people that are literally dying to go and might not be around if you push it another season.
     A useful thought exercise here would be to imagine the removal of the variables of the investors, the eager mission scientists, your team hungry for success, the press releases already announcing this summer's dive schedule. Imagine this project was self funded and on your own schedule. Would you consider taking dozens of other people to the Titanic before you truly knew the source of those sounds ??    
I believe in what you are doing. I think the use of composites is long overdue for MUVS. You have already shown the idea can work, 95% of that hull is performing great, but that spot is clearly talking to anyone that will listen , saying something is not right there. Even that is a validation of your material choice, it is giving you plenty of warning.  
Another way I like to  make decisions is by considering worst case scenarios. The worst case scenario of delaying diving until you have identified the defect making all that noise is some disappointed customers and financial woes. The worst case scenario of pushing ahead and not listening to the hull yelling at you involves Patrick Lahey and some russian oligarch tooling around a russian nesting dolls version of a wreck site in a made for TV special, telling his version of how things went wrong.  I hope you see option B as unacceptable as I do.
   Karl Stanley
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