I’m not a submarine engineer, but I would have expected that some of the more complex systems would have failed before the pressure vessel. Then again, it seems like they chose a seemingly cost effective design that was apparently susceptible to fatigue. Combine that with a profit motive to dive as many times as possible before retiring the hull and I suppose an implosion was practically inevitable. Oh well.
There were definite corners cut, he even admitted as much. Some things you simply can’t fudge numbers and substitute off the shelf parts. It seems like it was a little bit ego, a little bit ignorance, and a lot of greed to shave more profit by not doing as you suggest, standard practices and materials.
There’s a 2019 Smithsonian article that describes the founder as a “daredevil inventor,” and quotes him saying that regulations “needlessly prioritized passenger safety over commercial innovation.” Maybe not the right attitude for someone leading a safety-critical endeavor, eh?
Are those the same regulations that are said to be written in blood because people died before such rules were formed? We also have a saying at work - don’t create the need for a new rule with your name on it.