Titan sub tragedy: You are going to kill someone' ex-employees letter to CEO emerges | Mint - Mint

gandenganaja.blogspot.com

The Ominous details regarding the safety of the onboard passengers of ill-fated Titan submersible that killed all five including OceanGate Expeditions CEO are emerging weeks after the tragedy that took place near the Titanic wreckage in the North Atlantic Ocean.

The New Yorker has published an email of a former employee of OceanGate Expeditions which he wrote to ex-associate years ago with concerns about the potential failings of the submersible and an ominous warning about its CEO Stockton Rush about his reckless pursuit of personal glory.

“I don’t want to be seen as a Tattle tale but I’m so worried he kills himself and others in the quest to boost his ego," David Lochridge wrote about OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, reported CNN. The company hosted $250,000-a-ticket tourist excursions to the 111-year-old remains of the Titanic.

The services of David Lochridge, who served as OceanGate's director of marine operations until 2018, was terminated after raising concerns about the safety and testing of the ill-fated submersible throughout its construction process. According to the leaked emails, Lochridge expressed his apprehensions that CEO Rush's relentless pursuit of personal ambition would result in endangering himself and his colleagues aboard the submersible.

Allegedly, these warnings were disregarded despite being delivered directly from the factory floor.

“I would consider myself pretty ballsy when it comes to doing things that are dangerous, but that sub is an accident waiting to happen," Lochridge wrote in the email to Rob McCallum, a project associate who disassociated over concerns not to class the vehicle by a marine-certification agency, the CNN reported citing The New Yorker report.

“There’s no way on earth you could have paid me to dive the thing," Lochridge continued.

McCallum, a divemaster who has led expeditions to the Titanic, warned Rush in 2018 about the safety of the Titan submersible, telling the CEO he was putting himself and his clients in danger, the CNN reported.

The OceanGate vessel first went missing on June 18, with British explorer Hamish Harding, diving company CEO Stockton Rush, French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his son Suleman on board. Four days later, the US Coast Guard confirmed that the Titan submersible had suffered a catastrophic implosion, resulting in the death of all five individuals.

As per New Yorker report days before sending the email, Lochridge thoroughly inspected the submersible and uncovered numerous alarming issues. He discovered glue coming loose from the seams of the ballast bags and incorrectly positioned mounting bolts that posed a rupture risk.

He also mentioned concerns about potential hazards caused by important components being attached with zip-ties in his laws suit against his termination.

The most significant concern for Lochridge, which ultimately led to the sub's failure during its last dive, was the carbon fiber core responsible for maintaining passenger safety at the depths where the Titanic wreckage resides. These depths experience external water pressure of approximately 6,000 pounds per square inch, exerting pressure from all sides on the crucial hull of the vessel, The New Yorker reported.

The fact that the pressure chamber was built from carbon fiber, an untested and unpredictable material not utilised in any other deep-sea submersible, troubled Lochridge. According to the lawsuit filed in Seattle District Court, he argued that the Titan required extensive testing to ensure the safety of both passengers and the sub itself at extreme depths.