>>19050878 (PB)

>David Lochridge

A former employee of OceanGate alleged in a 2018 counterclaim lawsuit that he was fired for raising concerns about quality control and testing of potential flaws in the same experimental submersible that went missing this week with its crew and passengers on an underwater tourist venture to see the wreck of the Titanic.

David Lochridge, an engineer and submarine pilot, claimed in his counterclaim against OceanGate that he was hired in 2015 by the Everett, Washington, company to ensure the safety of all crew and clients during the submersible and surface operations of the vessel called Titan. But when he expressed concerns about the design and testing of the minisub's hull, he said he was terminated by the company.

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Lochridge alleged that he requested paperwork from the company's engineering director "regarding the viewport test result of the viewport for the Titan," according to the lawsuit.

"Lochridge was met with hostility and denied access to the necessary documentation that should have been freely available as a part of his inspection process," the lawsuit said.

Because his "verbal communications were ignored," Lochridge claims he wrote a report, saying, "Now is the time to properly address items that pose a safety risk to personnel."

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"In the Inspection Report, Lochridge identified numerous issues that posed serious safety concerns, and offered corrective action and recommendations for each," the lawsuit stated. "Lochridge primarily expressed concern regarding the lack of non-destructive testing performed on the hull of the Titan."

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According to the suit, on Jan. 19, 2018, a day after he filed his report, Lochridge was called to the meeting with company executives.

"At the meeting, Lochridge discovered why he had been denied access to the viewport information from the Engineering department – the viewport at the forward of the submersible was only built to a certified pressure of 1,300 meters, although OceanGate intended to take passengers down to depths of 4,000 meters," the lawsuit said. "The paying passengers would not be aware, and would not be informed, of this experimental design, the lack of non-destructive testing of the hull, or that hazardous flammable materials were being used within the submersible."

https://abcnews.go.com/US/lawsuit-alleged-flaws-titanic-submersible-now-missing/story?id=100251012

Stockton Rush FAandFO