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‘It freaked me out’: OceanGate's ex-finance director with accounting background was asked to become chief pilot
The former director of finance and administration for OceanGate quit her job as soon as she found a new role at a different company
A former director of finance and administration for OceanGate has revealed that the company’s CEO Stockton Rush approached her in 2018, suggesting that she become the chief pilot for the Titan submersible. Stockton made the proposal to the former director, who has not been named, after David Lochridge was fired.
David, a former director of marine operations and chief submersible pilot, had reportedly warned of “quality control and safety” problems related to the Titan submersible back in 2018. As per a lawsuit, he was wrongfully terminated after he said he found a “lack of non-destructive testing performed on the hull of the Titan.”
Soon after the firing of David, Stockton asked the finance director to fill in for the pilot. "It freaked me out that he would want me to be head pilot, since my background is in accounting," she told the New Yorker, adding that she "did not trust" Rush. She quit her job as soon as she found a new role at a different company.
The catastrophic implosion of the Titan submersible killed OceanGate Expeditions CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver Paul Henry Nargeolet, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman.
It has been reported that Stockton employed college-aged interns to design the electrical systems for the Titan submersible.
Deep sea exploration specialist Rob McCallum emailed David in 2018, asking him how Stockton was taking his departure. "Stockton must be gutted," Rob wrote. "I think you are going to [be] even more taken aback when I tell you what's happening.”
David said he would be "taken aback when I tell you what's happening," and added that he was afraid Stockton would retaliate if he expressed his concerns over the submersible, due to his "influence and money." “That sub is Not safe to dive," David said.
"Do you think the sub could be made safe to dive, or is it a complete lemon?" Rob asked. "You will get a lot of support from people in the industry. Everyone is watching and waiting and quietly shitting their pants." "It's a lemon,” David said. "Oh dear," Rob replied. "Oh dear, oh dear."
