Bill Price had complete confidence in Stockton Rush.

Even when Rush’s experimental submarine Titan lost contact with its mothership about an hour into its maiden voyage in 2021 as it began its descent to the wreck of the Titanic.

Even when Price realizes the ship’s propulsion system is malfunctioning.

Even after he realized it, he realized that there was a problem with the mechanism that released the weight from the craft and returned it to the surface.

“There was also anxiety about how I was going to get back on my feet,” Price told The Times on Thursday.

Rush, CEO of Oceangate, which designed and operated the submersible, and French explorer Paul-Henry Narjolet, known as “Mr. Martin.” Titanic was calm.

They have come up with a solution to bring the submarine back to the surface, Price said. Narjolet and Rush urged Price and his crew to shake the submarine from side to side and remove the weights holding it down. Slowly, I began to hear the sound of metal falling from the ship.

“When I heard the first clatter, I was very relieved,” Price recalls.

The submarine resurfaced, and despite the accident, Price was confident in the submarine and its operator. He and the other passengers all chose to join Rush and Nargiolet for another trip the next day.

Rush and Nargiolet were two of the five people on board the Titanic when it suddenly sank Sunday near where the wreckage was. Aircraft, boats and submarines are scrambling to find the submarine missing in the North Atlantic Ocean, fearing it has disappeared less than two hours into its most recent voyage and has been stranded in the water for 96 hours. During the search, a large-scale search involving the US, French, British and Canadian governments began. supply of oxygen.

Price, a 71-year-old retired Manhattan Beach resident, has been in the travel business his whole life. He’s not a millionaire. He was able to use the money he earned from his Oceangate marketing efforts and property sales to cover the cost of a trip to Titan, which cost about $250,000. An explorer and history buff, Price was overjoyed at the chance to see the Titanic up close.

“It was a lifelong event for me,” he said.

He recalls the side walls of the bow when they first approached a dark depth of about 13,000 feet below the surface. Nargiolet pointed to the captain’s cabin, where he could see the captain’s bathtub filled with rubble. He remembers the wooden deck decaying. He also remembers Rush’s poise as he navigates ships with video game controllers, and Nargiolet’s encyclopedic knowledge of traversing the haven of doomed ships.

Now, while struggling to understand what happened on her trip, Price is also grieving the deaths of two men she deeply admired.

“I have survivor guilt,” Ms. Price said.

Bill Price holding Titan’s first dive coin.

(Allen J. Charben/Los Angeles Times)

Mr. Price now carries a coin courtesy of Oceangate after his dive on the Titanic.

The coin says “Titan”. “A new era of exploration.”

It is written as “the first dive coin”.

At the top is “respect, honor, memory”.

Price, along with several others who worked with Oceangate, would like to reconstruct the narrative around Rush and the company. Some in the industry have expressed concerns about the safety of the Titan submarine. The Titan submarine did not follow all of the protocols expected of the submarine industry.

Rush complained that the regulations would slow innovation and make submersibles more expensive for the private sector.

“One of the jabs thrown at us is, ‘Hey, you’re not certified.’ But how do you get certified by doing something new?” Rush said. 2022 interviews on Maptia. “If there are rules about how to do things, then to do something different is to act outside the rules. It was MacArthur who said, ‘I remember breaking the rules.'” think. We are intelligently and intentionally trying to break the rules. “

Still, Price felt that Rush, an aerospace engineer, was incredibly cautious and methodical.

“I certainly didn’t feel that Stockton was a daredevil, nor was he close to it. It was quite the opposite,” Price said. “Each night after the dive, we would all gather in the briefing room for a debriefing session. said as.”

Even though Titan’s final dive ended in disaster, Price said he believed in Rush’s life and would still do so.

“In terms of regrets, I don’t regret it at all. I probably jumped in knowing nothing at the time,” he said.

When Price heard from an Oceangate employee that the submarine was missing, it had not yet made headlines internationally. Still, he knew something was wrong.

“I think it was six or eight hours that passed. Something must have happened by then,” he said.

Price hoped to be rescued, but thought it was likely that the submarine had blown up. He said he wanted to know that the five crew members died quickly and without suffering, as the submarine’s oxygen ran out in 96 hours.

“It’s somewhat comforting to know that they didn’t have to endure extreme anxiety and worry for a period of time,” he says.