The new Netflix documentary Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster has delved into the 2023 implosion, speaking to those who were involved in the sub’s development.
In the documentary film, there are numerous interviews, including from Emily Hammermeist, Tony Nissen and David Lochridge, three people who had worked for OceanGate whilst the Titan sub was being made.
However, one former employee particularly stood out to viewers, David Lochridge, also known as the OceanGate Whistleblower. In the lead up to the disaster, David had contacted the authorities with concerns about the Titan sub, explaining in the documentary how he was fired for pointing out safety issues.
But, who actually is David Lochridge?
Who is David Lochridge?
David Lochridge via Netflix
Originally from Scotland, David Lochridge was the chief submersible pilot and the Director of Marine Operations at OceanGate until 2018.
Before his time at the company, he was an expert submersible pilot who had led a range of global submarine-related operations.
Despite his expertise, David was a controversial figure at OceanGate. He often clashed with Engineering Director Tony Nissen as well as CEO Stockton Rush over his safety concerns. This ultimately let to his dismissal from the company.
Firing from OceanGate
David with Stockton and passengers after a test dive via Netflix
The documentary shows footage of Stockton Rush firing David for expressing concerns about the safety of the Titan vessel.
However, tensions started before this incident.
In 2016, David had a disagreement with Stockton over a test dive in another sub. Stockton told David that he wanted to pilot the vehicle despite the Glaswegian’s vast experience. However, after an incident during the dive, David had to take over and get everyone to safety.
David explained that he was “frozen out” of meetings after the test dive, and he said Stockton “never really spoke to me the rest of the trip.”
He further noted that the “dynamic changed”. David was also “cut out by senior management from the Titan project”, and “dropped from all email communications, verbal communications”.
Following this, David did a full safety inspection on Titan, which including holding tests and taking photographs. He then drafted an email with his concerns to OceanGate bosses.
The next day, David was a told a meeting would be held, which in turn led to his dismissal.
Recordings from the meeting are played in the documentary. In them, Stockton asked David what the “goal” of the inspection is, to which David replied: “The goal of the document for me is the safety of anyone who goes in there, including you.”
David then explained that he was against Stockton going on the sub, and that it should be submerged with a wire to test it. However, the CEO refused to take the idea on board. Soon after, David was asked to leave the company.
Blowing the whistle
David Lochridge at a OceanGate hearing via Netflix
After his dismissal, David submitted a complaint against OceanGate with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) as a whistleblower. He was then placed under OSHA’s witness protection programme.
However, the agency failed to look into the complaint quickly enough as the investigator said he had too many cases at the same time.
After OSHA took on the OceanGate case, the company filed a lawsuit against David on the grounds of breach of contract, fraud, and misappropriation of trade secrets.
David countersued with wrongful termination and agreed to settle the dispute with OceanGate out of court in November 2018. A month later, he also dropped the OSHA case. “It was going nowhere [and] was too much for us as a family,” he said.
Where is David Lochridge now?
Since then, David Lochridge has remained out of the spotlight.
His first public appearance was in 2024 when called as a witness during the US Coast Guard hearing into the Titan implosion.
“I never paid a penny to OceanGate, I’m going to state that clearly,” David said in his appearance. “I gave them nothing, they gave me nothing.”
Today, David spends most of his time with his wife Carole and their daughter. He reportedly lives in Washington, but often travels to New York and the UK.
It is unclear whether David will make any public appearance following the Netflix Titan documentary.
“There’s still a lot to come out,” the documentary director Mark Monroe claimed. “Documentaries aren’t made to be all-inclusive of every fact. The best thing they can do is make you curious, make you stay with the story.”
Meanwhile, broadcaster Tina Brown described David Lochridge as “one of the heroes of the film”.
Featured image via Netflix/OceanGate
