A former OceanGate chief financial officer has claimed she turned down an offer from Stockton Rush to pilot the submarine en route to the wreck of the Titanic because she was not suitable for the job.
This was reported by the New York Post on Wednesday. David Lochridge, the sub’s pilot, claimed he was wrongly fired after voicing his safety concerns.
“OceanGate gave Lochridge approximately ten minutes to immediately vacate his office and vacate the premises,” his attorneys said in the filing.
Shortly after Lochridge’s firing, Rush reportedly asked the company’s chief financial officer if she wanted to take on the role.
“It scared me that he wanted me to be chief pilot since I have a background in accounting,” the unnamed former executive told The New Yorker, adding that without Lochridge, she felt like stepping down must.
“I couldn’t work for Stockton Rush anymore,” she said. I didn’t trust him at all.
Stockton Rush was at the helm of the submarine when it imploded on June 18, killing everyone on board: British billionaire Hamish Harding, French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani tycoon Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman.