{"id":1963945,"date":"2023-07-04T11:47:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-04T15:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/expert-pilot-fired-by-oceangate-warned-ceo-would-kill-himself-others-to-boost-his-ego-report\/"},"modified":"2023-07-04T11:50:07","modified_gmt":"2023-07-04T15:50:07","slug":"expert-pilot-fired-by-oceangate-warned-ceo-would-kill-himself-others-to-boost-his-ego-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/expert-pilot-fired-by-oceangate-warned-ceo-would-kill-himself-others-to-boost-his-ego-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilot warned CEO would harm himself, others for ego boost: Report."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fexpert-pilot-fired-by-oceangate-warned-ceo-would-kill-himself-others-to-boost-his-ego-report%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1963945&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Concerns Raised About the Safety of OceanGate&#8217;s Submersible<\/h2>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Five years before the tragedy in which the OceanGate Titan submersible imploded in the deep ocean during its journey to the Titanic, an expert pilot for OceanGate reportedly warned of his concern that the company\u2019s CEO, Stockton Rush, \u201ckills himself and others in the quest to boost his ego.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">David Lochridge, a submersible pilot and engineer who had served in Great Britain\u2019s Royal Navy and worked all over the world, had expressed reservations about the design and build of OceanGate\u2019s submersible, but his concerns were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wh-official-scoffs-at-gop-congressman-for-telling-biden-admin-to-back-the-f-off-door-to-door-vaccine-push-report\/\" title=\"WH Official Scoffs At GOP Congressman For Telling Biden Admin To \u2018Back The F Off\u2019 Door-To-Door Vaccine Push: Report\">reportedly dismissed<\/a>. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-investigation-concludes-covid-likely-originated-from-a-chinese-lab\/\" title=\"Senate Investigation Concludes COVID Likely Originated From A Chinese Lab\">found numerous problems<\/a> with the vessel, including the carbon-fiber hull having \u201cvery visible signs of delamination and porosity,\u201d the glue for ballast bags coming off, sealing faces with errant plunge holes, and O-ring grooves whose design was not standard, among many others, The New Yorker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/a-reporter-at-large\/the-titan-submersible-was-an-accident-waiting-to-happen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>. When Lochridge brought up his concerns at a company meeting, he was fired.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI would consider myself pretty ballsy when it comes to doing things that are dangerous, but that sub is an accident waiting to happen,\u201d Lochridge wrote to Rob McCallum, who co-founded a company called Eyos Expeditions and had taken tourists to the Titanic years before. \u201cThere\u2019s no way on earth you could have paid me to dive the thing. \u2026 I don\u2019t want to be seen as a Tattle tale but I\u2019m so worried he kills himself and others in the quest to boost his ego.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">After Lochridge was fired, McCallum reportedly told him, \u201cStockton must be gutted. You were the star player \u2026 and the only one that gave me a hint of confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI think you are going to [be] even more taken aback when I tell you what\u2019s happening,\u201d Lochridge answered, adding that he was concerned Rush might target him, saying, \u201cWe both know he has influence and money,\u201d then adding, \u201cThat sub is not safe to dive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cDo you think the sub could be made safe to dive, or is it a complete lemon?\u201d McCallum asked. \u201cYou will get a lot of support from people in the industry\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. everyone is watching and waiting and quietly s***ting their pants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cIt\u2019s a lemon,\u201d Lochridge replied tersely.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cHe wanted me to run his Titanic operation for him,\u201d McCallum said of Rush. \u201cAt the time, I was the only person he knew who had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/expert-pilot-fired-by-oceangate-warned-ceo-would-kill-himself-others-to-boost-his-ego-report\/\" title=\"Pilot warned CEO would harm himself, others for ego boost: Report.\">run commercial expedition trips<\/a> to Titanic. Stockton\u2019s plan was to go a step further and build a vehicle specifically for this multi-passenger expedition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">After Rush made it clear he refused to have his submersible classed by a marine-certification agency, McCallum decided he did not want to be associated with OceanGate. \u201cThe minute that I found out that he was not going to class the vehicle, that\u2019s when I said, \u2018I\u2019m sorry, I just can\u2019t be involved,\u2019\u201d he told The New Yorker.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI can tell you that the class society has been nothing but supportive,\u201d he told Rush. \u201cThey are actually <em>part<\/em>\u00a0of our innovation process. We\u2019re using the brainpower of their engineers to feed into our design.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cStockton didn\u2019t like that,\u201d McCallum remembered. \u201cHe didn\u2019t like to be told that he was on the fringe.\u201d He warned Rush, \u201cYou can\u2019t cut corners in the deep. It\u2019s not about being a disruptor. It\u2019s about the laws of physics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cPeople would ring me, and say, \u2018We\u2019ve always wanted to go to Titanic. What do you think?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I would tell them, \u2018Never get in an unclassed sub. I wouldn\u2019t do it, and you shouldn\u2019t, either.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\"><\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI could not work for Stockton,\u201d OceanGate\u2019s director of finance and administration, whom Rush asked to take over as chief submersible pilot, recalled. \u201cI did not trust him. It freaked me out that he would want me to be head pilot, since my background is in accounting.\u201d She noted that several of the engineers for the company were in their late teens and early twenties. She quit as soon as she had another job lined up.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lochridge sent OSHA investigator Paul McDevitt an inspection report in the hope that the government might intervene, prompting McDevitt to contact OceanGate. OceanGate\u2019s lawyer then reportedly issued Lochridge a court summons saying he had ten days to withdraw his claim and pay OceanGate almost <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chip-roy-bidens-border-policies-an-impeachable-offense\/\" title=\"Chip Roy: Biden\u2019s Border Policies An \u2018Impeachable Offense\u2019\">ten thousand dollars<\/a> in legal expenses or OceanGate would sue him, wreck his reputation, and accuse him of immigration fraud. Lochridge ultimately withdrew his whistle-blower claim.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>expert for OceanGate, had expressed his apprehension about the CEO&#8217;s reckless pursuit of fame and recognition. Lochridge&#8217;s warning, made five years prior to the devastating incident where the OceanGate Titan submersible collapsed while en route to the Titanic, highlighted his fears that Rush&#8217;s ego-driven actions could lead to fatal consequences for himself and those around him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":1963946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1963945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1963945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1963945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1963945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1963946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1963945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1963945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1963945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}