A former OceanGate employee has claimed he had “no confidence whatsoever” in the Titan submersible’s construction in an explosive testimony before the courts.
A U.S Coast Guard investigatory panel has listened to testimony from former employees, contractors and paying customers this week as part of a high-level investigation into the cause of the implosion — and any potential negligence that could have led to it.
The public hearing began on September 16 and so far, we’ve heard some really spicy information.
David Lochridge, who was fired from his role at OceanGate in 2018, told the panel that owner Stockton Rush had previously crashed another OceanGate submersible into a shipwreck on a previous dive.
According to Lochridge, who used to run the marine operations department at OceanGate, Rush insisted on taking a submersible to the Andrea Doria shipwreck back in 2016 — with three paying customers on board.
The whistleblower claims he tried to warn Rush about difficult conditions but the CEO “wouldn’t listen” and “basically drove it full speed” at the shipwreck.
Rush allegedly then panicked and questioned how long it would take a rescue team to reach them, but when Lochridge tried to calm his boss down and pilot the submarine out of the bad situation, his boss allegedly refused.
After a customer reportedly shouted at the owner to hand over the literal gaming controller that piloted these submarines, he finally agreed and allegedly threw the controller at Lochridge’s head, he told the panel.
Thankfully, Lochridge was able to return the submarine to the surface in “10 to 15 minutes”, but his experiences had him questioning the safety of the submersibles.
“It was inevitable something was going to happen. It was just a [question of] when,” he said.
Lochridge’s comments come after a number of ex-employees and contractors have shared horror stories and warning signs from their time at OceanGate.
Five people lost their life when the Titan submersible imploded in June 2023: Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, Paul-Henri Nargeolet and OceanGate’s chief executive Stockton Rush.
Following the Titan’s implosion, OceanGate announced it “has suspended all exploration and commercial operations.”
Lead image: OceanGate
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