- A former finance director for OceanGate revealed that the CEO approached her to serve as the chief pilot for the Titan submarine.
- She decided to quit her job once Stockton Rush wanted her to replace the original pilot, according to a report from The New Yorker.
- The previous pilot, David Lochridge, claimed he was fired after expressing concerns about the safety of the sub.
A former director of finance and administration at OceanGate recounts an incident where Stockton Rush, the CEO, approached her in 2018 to become the chief pilot for the Titan submersible. This suggestion ultimately led to her resignation.
The anonymous ex-director shared her experience with Rush in an interview with The New Yorker’s Ben Taub.
Rush fired the original pilot, David Lochridge, and approached the finance director about taking over the role, as reported by Taub.
Lochridge, who later filed a countersuit against OceanGate, claimed that he was terminated after raising concerns about the safety of the Titan’s hull. Taub’s report includes conversations between Lochridge and other experts who discussed the submersible’s safety issues and his disagreements with Rush.
Following Lochridge’s dismissal, Rush asked the finance director to step in as the pilot. She expressed her unease about the request, considering her background in accounting, and ultimately left OceanGate after securing a new position elsewhere.
The ex-director also revealed that some of OceanGate’s engineers were teenagers or in their early twenties, and some were paid $15 per hour at one point, according to The New Yorker.
The Titan submarine experienced a catastrophic failure on June 18, collapsing while carrying five individuals, including Rush, to explore the wreck of the Titanic at a depth of 13,000 feet. The sub lost contact with its mother ship around 90 minutes into the descent and likely imploded thousands of feet below the surface.
Prior to the final dive, Rush had been warned multiple times by submersible experts about the experimental nature of the vessel. However, he disregarded their advice, citing his desire for innovation and claiming that industry safety standards were overly stringent.
Rush believed the Titan was reliable enough to conduct tours to the Titanic and even stated in 2018 that he would shut down his company rather than operate an unsafe vessel, according to a conversation with a friend.
Insider reached out to OceanGate for comment outside of regular business hours, but no response has been received as of yet.
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