‘Expedition Unknown’ host passed on Titan sub trip over safety concerns | CUOMO

JOSH GATES, YOU KNOW THE NAME.
HE’S A WELL-KNOWN ADVENTURER AND EXPLORER, HOST OF THE POPULAR DISCOVERY SHOW EXPEDITION UNKNOWN. NOW HE WAS PLANNING TO TAKE A TRIP AND DO A SPECIAL EPISODE ON THE SAM TITANS SUB THAT WE’VE ALL BEEN OBSESSING OVER FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS. HE CANCELED THE TRIP. WHY? JOSH JOINS US NOW. THANK YOU SO MUCH. APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THIS OPPORTUNITY.

LOOK, THIS IS HARD NEWS TO TAKE FOR THE FAMILIES. NO QUESTION ABOUT IT. AND THIS ISN’T ABOUT BEING INAPPROPRIATE AT THE WRONG TIME. BUT THE WHOLE QUESTION FOR THESE FAMILIES GOING TO BE WHY? WHAT WAS YOUR TAKE ON THE RISK? YOU KNOW, THE COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS?

>> YEAH.
WE WENT UP TO OCEAN GATE HEADQUARTERS AND WORKED THE LINES ALONGSIDE STOCKTON AND TOOK A RIDE IN TIGHT AND WENT DOWN A SHAKEDOWN DIVE ON THE SUB TO PUT IT THROUGH ITS PACES. SO THIS WAS JUST A FEW MONTHS BEFORE OCEAN GATE WAS GOING TO TAKE ITS FIRST SEASON OF PASSENGERS OUT TO THE TITANIC. AND, YOU KNOW, I HAD A LOT OF REALLY GREAT EXPERIENCES WITH STOCKTON. IT WAS A THRILLING EXPERIENCE. TITAN WAS REALLY NOT A VEHICLE, BUT BY THE END OF THE TRIP, I REALLY JUST CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THIS WASN’T FOR ME. AND I’M NOT A GUY WHO SAYS NO TO DANGEROUS THINGS VERY EASILY. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE PROBLEM WITH TITAN FOR ME WAS THAT THERE’S REALLY NOTHING TO BENCHMARK AGAINST. THIS IS A VEHICLE THAT IS A ONE-OFF. THERE IS NOTHING ELSE THAT HAS EVER BEEN BUILT LIKE TITAN TO GO DOWN TO THE TITANIC. EVERY OTHER SUB THAT GOES DOWN TO THESE DEPTHS HAS A TITANIUM OR STEEL ALLOY PRESSURE SPHERE. TITAN WAS BUILT USING CARBON FIBER. IT’S A MIRACULOUS MATERIAL. IT’S WHAT WE BUILD NEXT GENERATION AIRPLANES OUT OF, LIKE THE DREAMLINER, THE A350, AND IT CAN BE 10 TIMES STRONGER THAN STEEL. BUT IT HAS TO BE ENGINEERED TO REALLY EXACTING SPECIFICATIONS. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF MYSTERIES ABOUT HOW THIS MATERIAL PERFORMS UNDER INCREDIBLE PRESSURE, IN TERMS OF THOSE PRESSURE CYCLES AND FATIGUE, AND IN INCREDIBLY COLD TEMPERATURES. THERE JUST WAS NO DATA HERE TO MEASURE AGAINST. SO, FOR ME, IT WAS LIKE YOU COULDN’T EVEN ASSESS THE RISK.

>> NOW, I DON’T HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS BECAUSE I WATCH YOUR SHOW.
THIS IS THE SPACE THAT YOU’VE CHOSEN TO LIVE IN AND SHOW THE REST OF US. BUT ISN’T THAT HOW IT’S DONE? YOU WANT TO TRY SOMETHING THAT’S NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE. YOU HAVE TO TRY. AND THERE’S NO PLAN B. I MEAN, I DON’T SEE WHY NO ONE WOULD GRUDGE IT.

>> YEAH, I MEAN, LOOK, I DON’T THINK YOU CAN BE GRUDGE.
FIRST OF ALL, ANYBODY WHO CHOOSES TO TAKE A TRIP LIKE THIS, I TOTALLY REJECT THE CRITICISM THAT PEOPLE WOULD GO DOWN TO THE TITANIC. I THINK THE TITANIC HOLDS GREAT MEANING FOR MANY PEOPLE. PEOPLE WHO ARE IN OUR CHALET ON BOARD THE TITANIC, THAT WAS HIS LIFE. HE’S ONE OF THE WORLD’S FOREMOST EXPERTS ON THIS WRECK. AND SO WHETHER IT’S CLIMBING EVEREST, BASE JUMPING, OR GOING DOWN TO THE TITANIC, IF SOMETHING HOLDS GREAT PERSONAL MEANING FOR YOU, I THINK YOU SHOULD BE CELEBRATED FOR DOING IT. AS SOMEONE WHO HAS GONE DOWN TO WRECKS IN SUBMERSIBLES, LOOK, IT TAKES A LOT OF COURAGE, A LOT OF DETERMINATION AND BRAVERY TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT ABOARD ANY SUBMERSIBLE. SO I THINK THE PEOPLE ABOARD TITAN SHOULD CERTAINLY BE GIVEN A LOT OF CREDIT FOR THEIR COURAGE. I WILL ALSO SAY, THOUGH, TO YOUR QUESTION, LOOK, RISK IS PART OF THE GAME. I’VE HEARD A LOT OF PEOPLE TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, INNOVATION AND THE LEADING EDGE OF INNOVATION, AND THE WRIGHT BROTHERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. I TOTALLY AGREE. I THINK THAT FUTURE RISKS ARE REQUIRED WHEN INNOVATING, ESPECIALLY IN INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT ENVIRONMENTS LIKE THIS. BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT THERE ARE PASSENGERS ABOARD. THESE ARE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC. I KNOW THAT THEY’RE CALLED MISSION SPECIALISTS, BUT LOOK, SOME OF THEM ARE EXPERTS. YOU KNOW, ON OUR CHALET, CERTAINLY AN EXPERT, BUT WE HAVE A YOUNG MAN ABOARD THE 7.19, AND CERTAINLY A LOT OF THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BOARD THE SUB, I THINK, WHAT YOU WOULD CALL, YOU KNOW, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, RIGHT? AND I THINK THERE IS A DIFFERENCE THERE. AND I THINK WE HAVE TO—IT IS A REALLY HARD MOMENT FOR US BECAUSE MY HEART IS ABSOLUTELY BROKEN, LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE. I KNEW STOCKTON RUSH. AS I SAID, I’M A… YOU ALSO KNEW HIM AS HARDING ABOARD THE SUB, WHO WAS A FELLOW MEMBER OF THE EXPLORERS CLUB. SO IT’S JUST AN INCREDIBLE LOSS. BUT I THINK THAT ALONGSIDE THAT LOSS—AND MAYBE NOT TODAY, BUT I THINK VERY SOON WE HAVE TO ASK SOME REAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF TITAN AND ABOUT…