• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content

Home> News

Published 09:29 5 Jul 2023 GMT+1

OceanGate CEO told passengers to 'sleep' when battery went 'kaput' for 24 hours on previous trip

A previous Titan submarine crew got into trouble when the battery went 'kaput'

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

A former Titan sub passenger claimed OceanGate's CEO told them to 'sleep' when the battery went 'kaput' during a previous trip.

Videographer Jaden Pan was part of one expedition down to the Titanic wreck back in 2021.

And while he was excited for the journey, the crew got into a bit of trouble when the battery stopped working.

Advert

Speaking to the BBC, Pan explained that they had actually made it to the ocean floor and were within 'two football fields’ of the wreckage at the time.

However, it was then that CEO Stockton Rush told the crew they had to to go back up to the surface as the battery had failed.

"At first, I thought he was joking, because we were over two hours into our expedition and so close to the bottom," Pan said.

Jaden Pan said the battery stopped working during their dive in 2021.
BBC

"But then he explained that one of the batteries went kaput and we were having trouble using the electronic drops for the weights, so it would be hard for us to get back up to the surface."

Advert

While he worked on fixing the problem, Rush suggested passengers 'sleep' as it would take 24 hours for the weights to dissolve and the sub to make its way back up.

Half the crew said they were OK with taking a nap while the other half were keen to get moving.

And eventually, Rush managed to use the hydraulics to drop the weight get the vessel and the passengers back to safety.

This comes after a former OceanGate employee expressed fears about the safety of the Titan submersible in emails which have since been leaked.

Last month, a crew of five, including Rush, lost their lives during a trip to the Titanic wreck after the vessel suffered a 'catastrophic implosion'.

Advert

And now, worrying emails sent by ex-worker David Lochridge have been leaked that show he had safety concerns way back in 2018, during the construction of the Titan sub.

A previous OceanGate employee had raised concerns over the vessel's safety.
OceanGate/Becky Kagan Schott

According to The New Yorker, Lochridge said in an email: "I don’t want to be seen as a Tattle tale but I’m so worried he kills himself and others in the quest to boost his ego.

"I would consider myself pretty ballsy when it comes to doing things that are dangerous, but that sub is an accident waiting to happen.

"There’s no way on earth you could have paid me to dive the thing."

Advert

Just a few days before he sent the email, Lochridge had reportedly inspected every important element of the submersible. The result of the report had been a forest of red flags.

And in a report refusing to sign off on the sub, Lochridge wrote: "Verbal communication of the key items I have addressed in my attached document have been dismissed on several occasions, so I feel now I must make this report so there is an official record in place.

"Until suitable corrective actions are in place and closed out, Cyclops 2 (Titan) should not be manned during any of the upcoming trials."

Featured Image Credit: Xinhua/Alamy AP/Alamy

Topics: US News, Technology, Titanic

Dominic Smithers
Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

X

@SmithersDom

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

5 hours ago
6 hours ago
  • 5 hours ago

    Mysterious bright green pigeon spotted in UK town has experts 'sounding the alarm'

    The bird has been attracting visitors from all over the country

    News
  • 5 hours ago

    Distressing new bodycam footage shows police woman with bloodied face after Manchester Airport brawl

    Pc Lydia Ward suffered a broken nose following the incident at the Terminal 2 car park pay station area on 23 July, 2024

    News
  • 6 hours ago

    Scientists dropped a cow carcass into the sea and it got some very unexpected visitors

    The visitors were reminiscent of a certain Finding Nemo character

    News
  • 6 hours ago

    Doomsday prepper hoarding for WW3 shares everything on his list incase of global disaster

    Shahzad Kayani has stockpiled loads of essentials so that he is ready for anything

    News
  • Former OceanGate employee told colleague he was worried CEO would get himself and others killed in leaked email
  • Sick gamblers made thousands betting on survival of missing sub crew
  • OceanGate CEO downplayed 'really loud bang' on previous Titanic sub trip