If not for his son's well-placed concern, Jay Bloom would have been on OceanGate’s ill-fated Titan submersible.
LISTEN:
Bloom, a Las Vegas financier, told KNX In Depth that his son has been a fan of the Titanic's history since he was a child, and that passion sparked an interest in joining an excursion to the depths of the sea.
"I got introduced to [OceanGate CEO] Stockton about a year ago and introduced to this idea of taking a dive down, so it sounded like an amazing opportunity," Bloom said - "A once-in-a-lifetime type thing."
Stockton Rush, the now-deceased CEO in charge of the trip, gave Bloom the hard sell, telling him less than 200 people had been to the Titanic ruins - fewer people than have been to space.
"So I thought it would be a lot of fun for my son and something for us to do, a real bucket list type of thing to experience," said Bloom.
Initially, Jay's son was very excited, but after doing some research, it became clear that many things could go wrong.
Bloom brought his son to speak with Stockton, who was dismissive of the concerns, but the more research Jay's son did, the danger became more apparent.
Stockton was persistent, inviting Jay to go on two different dives in May, both of which Bloom postponed, which led to an invitation to the most recent launch on June 18.
Though Bloom believes Stockton's persistence came from a good place, saying, "I don't think Stockton was doing anything malicious or nefarious.
He really believed in what he was doing," Bloom does believe his passion for the project clouded his judgment.
Bloom shared his son's concern with Stockton on many occasions, but he discounted their concerns, saying they were "uninformed."
After pushing off the trip, citing scheduling conflicts to avoid any more back and forth over safety concerns, Bloom told Stockton they would revisit the idea next year.
Bloom said it's a tragic catastrophe, and to him, the most haunting part is, "I see that picture of the father and son that took our place, and I think just, but for the grace of God, that picture would be of myself and my son."
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Related
Related
