A father and son were planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the bottom of the ocean in a small submarine, but it was the son’s safety concerns that ultimately saved their lives.

Las Vegas financier Jay Bloom had planned to take his son Sean and a few others on a nearly three-mile dive into the icy ocean off the coast of Newfoundland to see the wreckage of the Titanic.

However, Sean started seeing red flags at every turn, and it was his warnings that prevented this family tragedy.

Sean, who is 20 years old, was worried that the small submarine could not withstand the pressure of going that deep in the ocean.

He and his friend Simon, who was also concerned about the safety of the sub, began looking much harder at the actual submersible they would be in.

They found that it was a small submarine with five people crammed inside, which just felt super unsafe to Sean.

Ocean Gate CEO Stockton Rush, who was among the five people who died in the tragedy, flew out to Las Vegas to meet with Jay in March.

They toured the Titanic exhibition at the Luxor Hotel and later talked about the expedition and the safety issues.

Rush attempted to talk Jay into the voyage, even offering a substantial discount and calling Sean and his friend Simon uninformed.

Jay recounts that Rush put a big push on him to book the trip.

Rush was financing his operation by charging observers to go with him, and he was using tourists to pay for it.

Jay says he felt that Rush did not think it would be dangerous for them to make the trip.

He was so passionate about this project, and he was such a believer that he drank his own Kool-Aid, and there was just no talking him out of it.

Jay believes that Rush’s mistake was not having some independent body review his work and take any criticism seriously.

He admits that the prospect of seeing the Titanic with his own eyes was seductive, but he couldn’t get past the safety concerns.

Ironically, Rush eventually filled the pair’s seats with Shahzad Dawood and his son Suleiman, 19.

The teen was terrified and wasn’t up for the trip but took it because it was Father’s Day and he wanted to do it for his dad.

Two fathers, two sons, and two different decisions resulted in one family talking about a near-miss and another grieving the loss of a teenager and his dad.

Ocean Gate age restrictions were only for people 17 years and younger.

Some questioned whether people under 21 should have been allowed to take the dangerous voyage.

But Sean says he was old enough to make an informed decision for himself.

He made the informed decision not to do this and told his father it was a bad idea, and they both agreed not to go.

For Sean, the first red flag that alarmed him about Rush was his arrival in Las Vegas, where Sean, Jay, and Rush were set to meet.

They asked why Rush was landing at a North Las Vegas airport rather than the commercial airports like McCarran.

Rush said he built the plane with his hands and was test-flying it right now.

That was Sean’s first red flag.

But more than that was the submersible itself.

He was stunned to learn that the submersible was piloted by a video game controller.

The more he looked into the Titan, the more his concerns grew.

The equipment they were using to go down there, these were massive submarines that were able to handle the pressure.

And the submarine Stockton was using just did not look ready.

Sean saw a bunch of red flags at the project.

It didn’t seem like a safe operation.

Jay says seeing all the media coverage of the Titanic tragedy is a constant reminder of just how close he and his son came to being among the victims.

He can’t escape it.

Every time he turns on a television or opens his computer, there’s a story.

And he sees the pictures of the people.

But for the grace of God, that would be their picture.

In conclusion, this tragedy could have been averted if Rush had listened to the safety concerns of those around him.

The loss of five lives is a tragedy that could have been avoided.

It is important to always prioritize safety over anything else, especially when it comes to high-risk activities like deep-sea diving.