OceanGate CEO Joked 'What Could Go Wrong' Before 'Titan' Sub Implosion, New Documentary Reveals

Stockton Rush's comments were made in an interview with St John’s Radio in Canada, which are included in the documentary

• OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush gave an interview to a Canadian radio station before the Titan implosion in June 2023

• The interview resurfaced thanks to new documentary Minute by Minute: The Titan Sub Disaster

• The documentary, which airs on the U.K.'s Channel 5 on March 6 and 7, will give viewers a look into the fateful day the OceanGate submersible disappeared in the North Atlantic

Comments OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush gave leading up to the Titan sub disaster that claimed his life and the lives of four others have resurfaced thanks to an upcoming documentary.

In the new documentary Minute by Minute: The Titan Sub Disaster, airing on the U.K.'s Channel 5 this week, viewers get a look into the fateful day the OceanGate submersible disappeared in the North Atlantic.

During an interview with St John’s Radio in Canada, which is included in the doc, Rush joked about the upcoming excursion by saying, "What could go wrong?" according to The Independent and the New York Post.

Related: 111 Years of Tragedy: How 'Titanic' Obsession Led to 'Titan' Nightmare — and What's Next for Wreck

During the interview he also mentioned they chose to have the expedition in June because that’s when waters around the Titanic were “calmest," per The Independent.

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On Sunday, June 18, Rush was joined by Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, British Pakistani billionaire Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19, and billionaire British explorer Hamish Harding, 58 — who had each reportedly secured a $250,000 ticket — in the capsule, which was sealed from the outside with 18 bolts.

Weighed down by sandbags and pipes, the Titan began its two-and-a-half-hour descent to the storied shipwreck.

At 5:40 p.m. ET that same day, Titan support ship Polar Prince notified the Coast Guard that the sub was missing, setting off a desperate search and rescue mission.

Days later, on June 22, the search concluded with officials confirming that all five people were presumed dead and that they had found debris that was likely caused by a "catastrophic implosion."

The effort to find the vessel and the reported noises resembling knocking in the search area are also addressed in the new documentary.

In a previously-released trailer for the doc, a narrator recalled the hopeful reports of banging in 30-minute increments before playing the eerie audio.

“The symmetry between those knockings is very unusual,” former Navy submarine Captain Ryan Ramsey said. “It’s rhythmic, it’s like somebody is making that sound, and the fact that it is repeated is really unusual.”

Related: How ‘Titan’ Passengers' Family & Friends Are Facing Tragedy: 'My Heart Dropped' (Exclusive)

At the time, in June 2023, reports of sounds by the search and rescue teams were confirmed by the U.S. Coast Guard in a statement, saying that a Canadian P-3 aircraft “detected underwater noises in the search area.”

Shortly after, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Briana Carter told PEOPLE the notion that those noises came from inside the vessel were not true.

“We don’t have anything at this time indicating any implosion or banging,” Carter said on June 21, three days after the submarine disappeared.

On June 22, when the Coast Guard announced that all five passengers were presumed dead, officials said that the reports of "banging" sounds discovered earlier in the week were likely not sounds coming from the Titan, as they were not consistent with a "catastrophic implosion."

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