A former OceanGate employee has branded the doomed Titan sub an “abomination” on the second day of a US Coast Guard hearing into the disaster.
David Lochridge, who served as the company's Director of Operations, told the hearing he raised a slew of concerns over the safety of the vessel before the 2023 incident which killed five people.Mr Lochridge claimed viewport and dome ceilings deviated from design best practice and told the hearing he was “appalled” by the state of the sub’s O-ring seals."There was so many laminations, so many voids. The imperfections were incredible. There was glue runs everywhere.
"The inquiry was told Mr Lochridge was made OceanGate marine operations director in January 2016 and was responsible for ensuring the safety of all crew and clients and training pilots, though none became qualified, he said.He said: "I was the only qualified submersible pilot to fly the assets that we had. I was the only one with experience in new-build submersibles.
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