A highly anticipated Netflix documentary on the 2023 OceanGate explosion shows the moment that the submersible company’s CEO, Stockton Rush, fired senior sub-pilot and whistleblower David Lochridge.
Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster delves into the accounts of staff members and the events that led to the Titan submersible's implosion on June 18, 2023, resulting in the deaths of five people inside.
Lochridge, OceanGate’s former director of marine operations, held reservations about the vessel’s carbon fibre hull and said he only entered the project on the assumption that the Titan sub would become “classed” – meaning that it would be independently certified as safe.
Sub-expert Rob McCallum said he pulled out of the project the day Rush decided to proceed without third-party classification.
The contentious relationship between Lochridge and the CEO came to a head when Rush steered the sub into a dangerous position during a trip to the SS Andrea Doria wreckage ahead of the Titan tour. An incident, the former sub-pilot said, was “a complete turnaround” and resulted in the end of their relationship.
In one clip, taken from inside the sub, Rush is seen almost crashing the vessel into a debris field, forcing Lochridge to intervene.
Lochridge said he was ostracized from the Titan project following that trip, adding that he became “totally out of the loop.”
On January 18, 2018, Lochridge submitted a scathing report to Rush and other senior staff outlining the dangerous risks posed by Titan’s inefficient hull design and the company's testing methods. A day later, Lochridge was asked to attend a meeting with Rush, Bonnie Carl, the HR director, Scott Griffith, the quality assurance director, and Tony Nissen, the engineering director.
“What brought this on? How long have you had some of these concerns?” Lochridge is asked by Rush during the January 2018 meeting.
“What led up to this, and what’s your goal with this document?”
Lochridge, who appears taken aback, responds, “I, I, no. The goal for this document for me is the safety of anybody that goes in there, including you.”
Rush, who grew angered during the discussion, continues to say: “It’s completely opposite of what everyone else says. Everyone says, ‘Oh, carbon fibre can’t handle compression.’ They’re full of s*** and I’ve proven them to be full of s***.
“You know this has been an eight-year project,” he says. “I know what the hell I’m talking about,” he continues before asking Lochridge to continue explaining himself.
“In terms of you going in the submersible, I am so against you doing it,” Lochridge says.
“We should be putting that sub on a wire, with everything that’s experimental which you’re doing.”
Rush interjects, stating, “I know that’s your issue. A wire is not without safety issues for one, and secondly, this is how we’re doing it, period.”
“I’ve looked at it. What you do is you set a testing program where you do it incrementally. It’s not just going to go to 3100 [metres] and be perfect and at 3200 [metres] it all goes anyway. That ain’t going to happen, and I will put my life on the line to say that ain’t going to happen,” Rush says, in the haunting clip.
“I don’t want anybody in this company who is uncomfortable with what we’re doing. We’re doing weird s*** here, and I am definitely out of the mold.
“I’m doing things that are completely non-standard and I’m sure the industry thinks I’m a f******* idiot,” he states.
Rush said he would continue at all lengths in his pursuit of success, no matter what anyone else thought.
Lochridge, who was left shell-shocked by the interaction, said Rush’s decision was understood and felt “gutted” about how things deteriorated to that point.
The departure of Lochridge meant that OceanGate operations had to be made more secure as life at the company would continue under the leadership of a “narcissist and a psychopath,” according to former engineering director Tony Nissen in the documentary.
HR director Bonnie Carl also left the company following that meeting.
Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster was released on Netflix on Wednesday.
