If I were so obscenely rich I could drop half a million to take a family member on some risky trip to, say, the bottom of the ocean, I'd probably consider dropping a few thousand extra to hire someone to research whether the guy running the trip was a total clown who ignored blatant engineering and safety issues https://newrepublic.com/post/173802/missing-titanic-sub-faced-lawsuit-depths-safely-travel-oceangate
Missing Titanic Sub Once Faced Massive Lawsuit Over Depths It Could Safely Travel To

Court documents reveal a former OceanGate employee had several safety complaints over the tourist submersible—and then he was fired.

The New Republic
@AbandonedAmerica The CEO (who is also onboard) was on record saying he is opposed to safety standards. https://www.newsweek.com/stockton-rush-was-issued-dire-warning-submersible-titanic-expedition-1807992
Stockton Rush Was Issued a Dire Warning on Submersible, Titanic Expedition

The OceanGate CEO was warned in 2018 that he was ignoring "a critical component in the safeguards that protect all submersible occupants."

Newsweek