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'That sub is not safe': Former OceanGate employee who was fired for raising concerns said the Titan was a ‘lemon’
David Lochridge was reportedly fired after he raised concerns over the company’s testing protocol
A former employee of OceanGate has said that the Titan submersible was not safe to dive, and compared it to a “lemon,” according to The New Yorker. The Titan was destroyed in a catastrophic implosion, killing OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British billionaire Hamish Harding, French diver Paul Henry Nargeolet, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman.
David Lochridge was reportedly fired after he raised concerns over the company’s testing protocol. He was the company's former director of marine operations and chief submersible pilot.
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."
David 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.”
“OceanGate gave Lochridge approximately 10 minutes to immediately clear out his desk and exit the premises,” David’s attorneys said in the filing, according to New York Post. “The paying passengers would not be aware, and would not be informed, of this experimental design, the lack of non-destructive testing of the hull, or that hazardous flammable materials were being used within the submersible.”
