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What Lochridge said was wrong with Titan
In a 2023 account of Lochridge’s court filing, TechCrunch described concerns about the submersible’s design and inspection. These were allegations in his filing, not findings independently established by that article.
- Hull flaws: Lochridge said he saw visible flaws in Titan’s carbon-fiber hull and was concerned that flaws could grow through repeated pressure cycles.
- Inspection method: He objected to the lack of nondestructive testing and to OceanGate’s reliance on acoustic monitoring to detect problems.
- Viewport depth rating: He reportedly said the viewport maker had certified it to 1,300 meters, while Titan was intended to operate at 4,000 meters.
TechCrunch reproduced the preamble to Lochridge’s report from his court filing: “Now is the time to properly address items that may pose a safety risk to personnel. 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.”
The later NTSB factual report provides technical context: OceanGate did not carry out ultrasonic testing of the final hull. That record helps explain the inspection dispute, but does not by itself establish the cause of the 2023 casualty. NTSB, Factual Report – Titan – Operations; TechCrunch, June 20, 2023.
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When he reported the concerns—and when he was fired
The dates refer to separate events. The NTSB factual report says Lochridge drafted the quality-control report in 2017. TechCrunch, reporting on his court filing, says OceanGate terminated him in January 2018. This distinction matters: the report’s drafting began before the dismissal, even though the episode is commonly framed as a 2018 whistleblower dispute.
What happened after he complained to OSHA
Lochridge filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration under the Seaman’s Protection Act. OceanGate then sued him over confidential business information. The NTSB says Lochridge withdrew his complaint and OSHA closed its case.
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OSHA’s authority in this matter was narrow. The NTSB report states: “In this case, OSHA only had jurisdiction to investigate the retaliation, not any safety issues.” As a result, the OSHA process did not determine whether Lochridge’s engineering allegations were correct. TechCrunch reported that the lawsuits settled in November 2018; a settlement should not be treated as a ruling that resolved the technical dispute.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What later investigations add—and what they do not prove
Later government reporting placed the employment dispute in a broader safety and oversight context, but it is distinct from the 2018 case. The Coast Guard’s Marine Board report, released in 2025, identified a toxic workplace culture, an inadequate regulatory framework, and an ineffective whistleblower process, and called for better coordination between OSHA and the Coast Guard. U.S. Coast Guard, August 5, 2025.
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The NTSB factual report also records differing accounts from employees and mission specialists: some described ignored design concerns, while others offered positive accounts of safety practices. It recounts a former director of operations describing the atmosphere as “toxic”; that is testimony recorded in the report, not a stand-alone agency finding about every employee’s experience.
These records vary in source, evidentiary status, and scope: Lochridge’s filing presented his allegations; OSHA addressed retaliation rather than engineering; and later investigations examined broader operational and casualty questions. Together they explain why the concerns became significant, but the 2018 employment dispute alone does not establish the cause of Titan’s 2023 implosion.
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