Titan sub hearings live: Testimony concludes as Coast Guard hears about build up to OceanGate disaster
US Coast Guard’s two-week long hearing into the disastrous Titan submersible voyage operated by OceanGate has concluded in North Charleston
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OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush allegedly declared that he would “buy a congressman” to make issues surrounding the Titan sub’s certification go away, a witness testified.
Matthew McCoy, who worked at the submersible company for six months from April 2017, addressed the Titan Marine Board of Investigation panel on Friday for the final day of the two-week long hearing into Titan’s disaster voyage in June 2023.
After raising concerns about an alleged lack of certificate of inspection for the first Titan sub in 2017, McCoy testified that Rush told him, “I would buy a congressman” to make problems disappear during a lunch meeting. The ex-OceanGate employee said that he quit soon after.
“He was either trying to intimidate me or impress me,” he testified.
McCoy also alleged that the OceanGate engineering department was “full of college interns” during his time at the company, adding that he “doesn’t believe” there was a professional engineer on staff.
Captain Jamie Frederick, member of the US Coast Guard who oversaw rescue mission of the Titan and its five crew, began testifying after McCoy. Coast Guard Search and Rescue Specialist Scott Talbot was the last person to testify.
OceanGate did not ask Coast Guard to inspect Titan, inspector says
OceanGate did not ask the Coast Guard to inspect the doomed Titan submersible, according to John Winters, a master marine inspector with the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound.
Winters said he only spoke to former Oceangate CEO Stockton Rush about the sub in passing when he mentioned wanting to take a vessel to the Titanic wreckage.
Stockton Rush complained about Coast Guard regulations, safety inspector said
John Winters, a marine inspector with the Coast Guard, testified that former OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush complained about regulatory processes.
“He did express on multiple occasions that regulations were stifling his innovation process,” Winters said of his conversations with Rush.
Winters worked to evaluate the safety of OceanGate’s Antipodes vessel. OceanGate wanted to obtain a small passenger vessel certification from the Coast Guard but did not receive it, Winters testified.
Coast Guard safety inspector worked with Stockton Rush to evaluate safety of OceanGate vessel
John Winters, a marine inspector with the Coast Guard, interacted directly with former OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, he revealed on Thursday.
Winters worked to evaluate the safety of Antipodes, another vessel made by the company.
“We basically took the submarine apart, put it back together, and tested every single system on the submarine,” Winters said.
OceanGate wanted to obtain a small passenger vessel certification from the Coast Guard but did not receive it, Winters testified. The company had to instead apply for an oceanographic research vessel certification, which they obtained.
Coast Guard marine inspector testifies
John Winters with the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound has begun his testimony before the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation.
Winters is a master marine inspector and helps train other inspectors.
OceanGate co-founder claims milestone in quest to put humans on Venus
The OceanGate co-founder has claimed the latest milestone in his quest to colonise Venus as the inquiry into the Titan submersible disaster continues.
Taking to LinkedIn, Guillermo Söhnlein, 58, shared a post about a new “biopod” with its own climate system that could be used to help humans thrive on the otherwise uninhabitable planet.
Read more:
OceanGate co-founder claims milestone in quest to put humans on Venus
Guillermo Söhnlein shared a post about a new “biopod” with its own climate system that could be used to help humans thrive on the otherwise uninhabitable planet.
Boeing engineer begins testimony
Mark Negley, an engineer with Boeing, is now testifying before the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation
Negley once sent Rush his safety analysis of Titan’s hull, WIRED reports. He warned that there would be a “high risk of significant failure” if the contraption went to the depth of the Titanic wreckage.
Shock photo shows how Titan submersible fell apart before implosion
The ongoing public hearing into the Titan submersible disaster has revealed that part of the experimental vessel fell off before it imploded last June.
Better known as the “Titanic tourist sub”, the Oceangate submersible had a controversial design that raised concerns inside and outside of the company before it led to the deaths of five men. Former Oceangate operations director David Lochridge revealed last week that he was actually fired for raising his concerns.
It is believed that the vessel’s carbon fibre hull – considered by experts to be unsuitable for use at depth – was weakened on repeat dives to the Titanic wreck, which lies at around 12,500 feet below the North Atlantic Ocean, as testified by National Transportation Safety Board engineer Don Kramer on Wednesday.
Read more:
Shock photo shows how Titan submersible fell apart before implosion
‘This was never sold as a Disney ride,’ a former passenger claimed
Thursday hearing kicks off with NASA engineer
Today’s hearing before the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation kicked off with testimony from Justin Jackson, a materials engineer with NASA.
OceanGate had approached NASA about performance testing in their deep-sea facility, Jackson’s testimony revealed.
Soon afterward, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and OceanGate sought other partners as in-person facility use was limited, Jackson said.
Testimony to resume on Thursday
Testimony in the OceanGate Titan sub hearings before the US Coast Guard are set to resume today.
Expected to testify are experts from the Coast Guard, NASA and Boeing. They are expected to talk more about the disaster that claimed the lives of five people.
It's part of 10 days worth of testimony as investigators try to determine what went wrong before the implosion and if there were warning signs that were missed by OceanGate officials.
Blog coverage to resume Thursday morning
Wednesday’s testimony before the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation has ended.
Blog coverage will resume when the next hearing begins on Thursday morning.
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