Titan Sub Disaster | Cyclops | 2

Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American Scandal early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. American Scandal uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, might be invented, but everything is based on historical research. It's 2006 in Puget Sound near Seattle, Washington. Wendy Rush paces the deck of a small motorboat, her boots clacking against the fiberglass. It's a beautiful day. The late afternoon sun sends darts of light dancing over the waves, but Wendy barely notices. Her eyes are fixed on what's beneath the water. A cluster of bubbles appears, followed by a strange silhouette wobbling upward in the swell. Wendy leans forward as a bright yellow mini-submersible, rises to the surface. A moment later, its top hatch swings open, and her husband's head pops out. For the past few months, Stockton Rush has been building this 13-foot mini-submersible using parts and blueprints obtained from a company in London. He insists it's safe, but Wendy couldn't shake the nerves when he took the sub under the waves for the first time half an hour ago. With a wide grin on his face, Stockton calls out from the sub. Oh, that was incredible! Incredible! Wendy throws him a rope, and Stockton loops it through a metal ring on the top of the yellow hull before throwing it back to her. She pulls him in. You said you'd be 20 minutes. I couldn't resist. I wanted to stay down a little longer. Here, help me out. Stockton reaches out for her hand, and he pulls himself awkwardly from the hatch, wriggling, like he's crawling out of a sleeping bag. When he's finally free, Wendy helps him climb up onto the motorboat. You look like someone's folded you into a. suitcase. Well, it's a small price to pay. You wouldn't believe what it's like down there. Wendy raises an eyebrow. You were at 30 feet, Stockton, not the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Well, even at 30 feet, the world looks totally different. It's like stepping onto another planet. Well, I'm glad you had a good time. I've spent the last half hour imagining all the ways that little toy can sing. Hey, the K-350 is not a little toy. It's a precisely engineered submersible. You said your elbows keep hitting the valves. Well, I can adjust that. Besides, lying on your stomach is an efficient use of space. You still need room to move your arms. No one said it's luxury travel. Besides, it's mine. I built that thing, bolt by bolt, and it works. Wendy studies her husband, taking in the bright, almost feverish excitement in his eyes. She can't help smiling. All right, then. Tell me, what did you see? I can't even begin to describe it. There are forests of kelp down there, swaying like they're breathing. And so many fish. I had no idea. There's so much. But it's also so quiet. You just forget the entire world above you even exists. And I suppose that's why you took an extra ten minutes, huh? You forget about me, too? No, it just gets into your soul. That's my point. This is just the beginning. I'm going to be doing some big things. Wendy gives a wry smile and glances at the tiny yellow sun. With that thing? Well, you've got to remember, every great journey begins with a single step. Someday, this is all going to change. It's not going to be routine. We're going to take people to places that they've never dreamed of. All right. Just make sure you always come back, all right? Wendy Rush fires up the motorboat as Stockton lashes a submersible to the back. Once it's secure, they head toward land. All the way back home, every time Wendy looks over at Stockton, he's staring at the tiny yellow vessel rocking in the wake behind them. Over the 30 years that they've been married, Wendy's grown used to Stockton and his unusual obsessions. But she has no idea just how far this new one will take them. And use code WONDERY to get $150 instantly in lineups if you win your first $5 lineup. Prize picks. Run your game. Confidence. It's listening to your gut. It's moving forward even when the path ahead is unclear. For nearly 160 years, Pacific Life has helped people keep their promises, building confidence for generations. Whether you're confident in your financial future or just beginning to envision it, we're here to help. Ask a financial professional. How? Pacific Life. The power of a promise. Pacific Life Insurance Company, Omaha, Nebraska. And in New York, Pacific Life and Annuity, Phoenix, Arizona. From Audible Originals, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American Scandal. American Scandal. American Scandal. I'm Lindsey Graham. But the allure of Titanic would blind Rush to the risks of deep-sea exploration. And in June 2023, his hubris would catch up with him. His experimental submersible Titan suffered a catastrophic implosion, and the five people on board, including Rush himself, were killed instantly. Rush had been warned many times that he was courting disaster. But he was never the kind of man who listened to skeptics. This is Episode 2, Cyclops. It's 2007 in Puget Sound, Washington. 44-year-old Stockton Rush leans over the side of his motorboat, making final checks on the small, self-built submersible that's bobbing in the water. By now, Rush has taken several trips in this mini-sub. He's already met sharks, dolphins, and seals beneath the waves. And the deeper he descends, the more he sees, and the further he wants to go next time. But before he takes his sub to a new depth, he always. tests it first. As his wife, Wendy, watches on, Rush gets to his feet, dries his hands on his shorts, and steps over to the controls of an electric winch. He thumbs the button, and the motor whirs to life, its drum spinning, paying out rope. Rush and Wendy then lean over the rail as the bright yellow sub disappears into the dark water. Wendy jokes that it's probably the last time they'll ever see it. Rush grins back, but he's confident in the machine he's built. He keeps his eyes open. His eyes on the winch as it unwinds. So far, the sub has been to a maximum depth of 100 feet, but Rush is sure it can go far deeper. So when it reaches 100 feet, he keeps going. Wendy glances at him as it sinks deeper and deeper, but Rush still lets it run. He only shuts off the winch at 150 feet. For a moment, he lets the submersible dangle in the depths. Then he flips a switch, and the winch reverses. The cable tightens, drawing the sub back up to the boat. Eventually, the submersible breaks the surface, and Rush can't hold back. He immediately leans over the rail, wrestling open the hatch to peer inside. Wendy calls out from behind, asking what he can see. And Rush turns around triumphantly, declaring he can't see anything. The interior is bone dry. Pulling his head out, he quickly checks the exterior, too. There are no signs of damage, no gaps in the seals, no cracks on the window or the hull. And that's good enough for Rush. The next time this sub goes to 150 feet, he'll be inside. Over the next few months, Rush makes several more trips in his homemade submersible, going deeper each time. And with every trip, he notices subtle changes in the water. The light fades, the color shifts, and new species of plants and animals appear out of the gloom. But he's never satisfied. More than anything, he wants to reach the deep scattering layer, a twilight zone where marine life is so dense that, similarly, sonar operators mistook it for the bottom of the ocean. It's estimated that this layer contains more than a million invertebrate species, most still unknown to marine biologists. But there's a problem. The deep scattering layer begins at roughly 1,000 feet. That's almost twice the maximum depth of his homemade submersible. To reach that far, Rush will need to buy or build a far more advanced vessel. But Rush is not deterred. He sees himself as a pioneer. After all, it's in his blood. Rush was born in 1962 into a wealthy family, with roots as old as the United States itself. He was named after two relatives who signed the Declaration of Independence, Richard Stockton and Benjamin Rush. And just like his founding father ancestors, the young Rush saw himself as a trailblazer. As a young man, he once dreamed of going into space, but poor eyesight put an end to that ambition. But after he made a fortune of his own in investment banking, he switched his. his attention to a different form of extreme exploration, the deep sea. The Kittredge 350 mini-submersible had given him his first exhilarating taste of underwater adventure, and now he's ready to go further. But even as a wealthy man, Rush can't achieve his ambitions alone. Luckily, he has a contact book full of friends who are even richer than he is. One stands out, the space-obsessed tech entrepreneur Guillermo Sonnlein. And when Rush suggests to him that they can explore the oceans instead of the stars, Sonnlein quickly agrees to partner up. In 2009, the two men found a company together they name OceanGate. Their plan is to eventually run a fleet of submersibles, but they start with just one. The Antipodes is a five-person vessel with a steel hull rated to 1,000 feet. Although it's nearly 40 years old, the sub has plenty of life left in it, and OceanGate quickly begins renting it out to Sonnlein. Starting in 2010, OceanGate undertakes dozens of dives in Antipodes, many in partnership with the University of Washington. But the sub is not used solely for research. OceanGate also offers underwater excursions for paying customers. Its first tourism trips are to Catalina Island off the coast of California, but it soon adds other destinations, charging passengers up to $40,000 for a unique deep-sea adventure. And while combining tourism and the space-obsessed tech industry, and research might seem like an awkward business plan, Stockton Rush finds a way to bring them together. He knows that tourists paying tens of thousands of dollars will have high expectations, and he can deliver a spectacular trip beneath the seas. But he's not a marine biologist. He can't tell his customers much about what they're seeing out the portholes, but thanks to his work with institutions like the University of Washington, he knows plenty of people who can. In early 2011, he reaches out to a marine biologist and invites him down to the jetty where Antipodes is moored. With a showman's flourish, Rush gives the biologist a tour of the submersible. He opens the hatch, and the two men climb in. They peer through the domed windows at either end, and while they're still crouched inside, Rush outlines his proposal. He'll transport the scientist to the bottom of the sea free of charge. In return, the biologist will serve as a guide for three paying passengers who will be with them. To Rush, it's a perfect arrangement. The scientist gets to carry out his research for free, and the tourist gets a genuine expert on board. The biologist can even put the tourists to work, giving them simple survey tasks and turning them into citizen scientists. A few minutes later, Rush and the biologist climb out of Antipodes and back onto the jetty. It's right there that the biologist extends his hand. Ocean Gate's offer is too good to refuse. Hiring a deepwater sub like this would normally blow his entire budget. Getting it for the cost of playing tour guide is an incredible deal. So the two men shake hands, sealing the deal with a grin. Over the next few months, Ocean Gate pushes ahead with its hybrid research and tourism strategy, and it works. Antipodes is regularly booked out. It's used to map the wreckage of the SS Governor, a ship that sank in Puget Sound in 1921. And on the other side of the continent, it surveys the coral reefs off Miami, Florida, where it even stumbles across a crashed World War II fighter plane on the seabed. With this business model proving a success, Rush starts to dream even bigger. And even deeper. But if he wants to take customers into the farthest depths of the ocean, he'll need a far more advanced sub than Antipodes. There's no suitable vessel on the second-hand market. So in 2013, Ocean Gate begins to design its own submersible. It's a pivotal moment that sparks a shift at the top of the company. Co-founder Guillermo Sonline's interests lie in exploration and research, not engineering. And recognizing that the company has moved on from its initial vision, he steps forward. But now that the business is up and running, Stockton Rush is confident he can lead the company forward alone. So Rush launches himself into the development of Ocean Gate's first custom-built submersible. Cyclops is created in collaboration with the University of Washington and the aviation giant Boeing. But this new vessel isn't built entirely from scratch. Ocean Gate acquires a 12-year-old submersible from a company in the Azores, then uses its cylindrical steel hull as the basis of Cyclops. Then the Ocean Gate engineering team adds some innovations of their own, including a new maneuvering system, which they operate with an off-the-shelf Sony PlayStation controller. After two years in development, Cyclops is unveiled to the world in 2015 and immediately begins transporting paying passengers to underwater sites with expert guides on board. But not every mission goes according to plan. In June 2016, Cyclops is a new submersible. It's a new submersible. Cyclops embarks on a tourist excursion to the wreck of the Andrea Doria. This Italian ocean liner sank in 1956 off the coast of Nantucket after colliding with another ship. Since then, it's become an iconic destination for scuba divers. Lying on its side on the seabed, the liner is usually only accessible to the most daring and experienced. But now, though, thanks to Ocean Gate, the Andrea Doria is open to all. And as it descends into the depths, the metal walls of Cyclops' ship vibrate faintly, the hum of its thrusters blending in with the muffled weight of the Atlantic pressing in from all sides. Passenger David Lockridge shifts its weight carefully inside the cramped hull. He was recruited as Ocean Gate's director of marine operations due to his years of experience as a submersible pilot. But today, he's just along for the ride with the three paying passengers. It's his boss Stock and Rush who's at the controls. Lockridge checks a gauge and then another. They're on the seabed just over 160 feet beneath the surface. He peers through the upper porthole and his blood runs cold. Enormous dark mass of the Andrea Doria looms over them like a mountain rising out of the fog. Hey Stock, back up. We're too close. From the pilot's seat, Rush doesn't turn around. His eyes are locked on the murky green water ahead. No, we're fine. I got it. We're drifting under the bow. Pull back. Rush waves a hand, shooing away the warning. Relax. We're just getting a better look. Lockridge presses a palm to the cold acrylic dome, trying to judge the distance through the haze. Hey Stockton, I'm serious here. Reverse thrust. Back away. Look, we're nowhere near. The sub jolts. Lockridge almost topples over. Oh, we've hit her, Stockton. We've hit the wreck. I told you. I'll just back us out, okay? Lockridge shakes his head. He wants to say more, but he knows now's not the time. They shouldn't have an argument in front of the customers. Rush forces a smile for them. Hey folks, sorry for that. Just a little delay here. We told you, we told you we'd give you a close-up view. Rush toggles the controls for a few moments, but the submersible doesn't move. Hey, you want me to take over? That's fine, David. Please, I'm the pilot. Let me do this. But whenever he tries, the subs still won't move. They're pinned beneath the enormous ocean liner. Rush stares out the porthole, his jaw clenched. Then, with a sudden, frustrated motion, he shoves the controller into Lockridge's chest. All right, fine, you do it. Are you sure? Yeah, just get us the hell out. Lockridge closes his hand around the controller, settles his breath, then slides into the pilot seat. Okay, everyone, hold on. David Lockridge toggles the thrusters, using gentle puffs at first to see how much play they have. The sub rocks a bit, scraping against the wreck again, but the nose lifts a fraction of an inch. Lockridge then angles the rear thrusters, pulses them carefully, and watches the sediment swirl around the porthole. Bit by bit, Cyclops shimmies backward, metal grinding on metal. Eventually, they slip free. David Lockridge has saved the sub as well as the lives of everyone on board, but he was too close for comfort, and he knows exactly who was to blame. Stockton Rush was reckless at the controls and ignored warnings. He can only hope now that Rush has learned his lesson. Your best life means being extra where it counts, and skipping the extra where you don't need it. Like in your cleaning products. That's where 7th Generation comes in. Their bio-based cleaning power delivers a powerful clean with nothing extra in the bottle. Need a dish soap that cuts through the tough grease? A detergent that tackles the worst stains and odors? 7th Generation handles it all without any dyes or artificial fragrances. Real clean doesn't have to come with a long list of add-ons. Upgrade to a powerful clean without anything extra. Look for 7th Generation dish soap and laundry detergent wherever you shop for your cleaning products. With a Spark Cash Plus card from Capital One, you earn unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase. And you get big purchasing power, so your business can spend more and earn more. 7th Generation is a must-have when it comes to cleaning your house. Despite the near-miss during the dive to the Andrea Doria, the tourists aboard Cyclops don't seem to realize how close they came to disaster. When the sub returns to the surface, they gush with enthusiasm. They praise David Lockridge's steady handling of the vessel, and they can't stop talking about the eerie beauty of the wreck. As OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush listens to these excited tourists, their words confirm something he's noticed over the past few months. Shipwrecks ignite people's imaginations more than anything else in the sea. And if doomed ships. sell tickets, then perhaps there's an easy way to supercharge Ocean Gate's growth. Rush decides he's going to lead expeditions to the most famous wreck of them all, the Titanic. But if Ocean Gate is to offer trips to the Titanic, it will require another vehicle upgrade, a whole new submersible that can go even deeper. The wreck of the Titanic lies over two miles below the surface of the North Atlantic, far beyond the capabilities of the Cyclops. At those depths, the pressure reaches around 6,000 pounds per square inch. Even a pinprick-sized hole in the hull would create a jet of water so powerful it would cut through flesh like a laser. All the previous submersibles that have made it to the Titanic were equipped with thick titanium hulls. But even though titanium is a lighter metal, its weight limits the size of the sub and the number of people it can carry. Three is the maximum. And that's no good to Rush. To make tourist excursions to the Titanic a viable business, he will have to be able to carry three or four passengers on each trip, plus a pilot. So he rules out titanium and goes looking for a different approach. Together, they design a new craft, built out of a material that's never been used on a deep-sea submersible before, carbon fiber. It's a strong but lightweight material made out of strands of almost pure carbon that are bundled together and embedded in resin. It's durable enough that it's already widely used in airplane wings, high-performance sports cars, and wind turbine blades. So Rush figures it's time to try it in submersibles. No one knows for certain how carbon fiber will behave under such pressure. Even multiple layers of the material may not be enough to withstand the crushing depths of the ocean, but that does not deter Rush. In his mind, he's a pioneer, and pioneers push forward where others fear to tread. So in January, 2017, OceanGate signs a contract with a Sacramento-based company that specializes in carbon fiber. It's tasked with designing and building the cylindrical hull of Cyclops II. Rush is eager to get on with it, and he gives the company just six weeks to complete the unique commission. At the same time, Rush also engages maritime engineering firm Hydrospace to construct the sub's main acrylic porthole. But Hydrospace CEO William Conan is a recognized expert in the design of the sub's main acrylic porthole. He says that it's a great idea, and that it's a great idea to use in submersible portholes. When acrylic is used in submersible portholes, it's normally constructed in a dome shape that helps the material withstand the pressure of the ocean pushing inwards. But Rush wants a flat window, because he believes that will give the sub's occupants a better view. In the end, Conan agrees to compromise. He'll build a hybrid window, essentially a flatter-than-usual dome. But Conan stresses that the design is experimental, and Hydrospace is only willing to rate the window as safe to just over 2,000 feet, barely a sixth of the depth of the Titanic. But Stockton Rush has no intention of following that guidance. Instead, he claims that small cracks will appear in the acrylic if it's under too much pressure, and according to him, this will give the pilot enough notice to halt a dive and return to the surface before the window shatters. So he presses on. As construction on Cyclops II continues, Rush goes looking for endorsements for his radical new design. He approaches the submersible entrepreneur Rob McCallum. McCallum is well-known in the industry, and one of the few people who have led expeditions to the Titanic before. He's happy to offer OceanGate advice on marketing and logistics, but Rush has a bigger ask. Rush wants him to give the Cyclops II his seal of approval by signing up as a consultant. McCallum doesn't immediately dismiss the idea. But before he can decide whether to join the company, he insists on seeing OceanGate's plans for himself. So he travels to its headquarters in Everett, and he's there to see if he can find a way to get the Cyclops II. And there, amid drafting tables, 3D-printed parts, and half-finished components, Stockton Rush shows him the blueprints for the Cyclops II. McCallum carefully looks over the cross-sections, hull diagrams, and pressure calculations. Beside him, Rush hovers. So, what do you think? Well, it's ambitious. Yeah, thank you. I think we're really breaking new ground here. Still needs to be matched with proven engineering, though, of course. Oh, yeah, of course. McCallum spreads several sheets out, side by side. So, let's talk specifics here. He points to a diagram showing the pilot's control console, a rectangle-marked wireless controller input next to a drawing of a PlayStation controller. So, this is my first concern. I mean, it's a gaming device, right? Yeah, it looks funny, but it's proven hardware. Yeah, but proven for what? I mean, is Sony aware that it's being used in this way? It's not what it was designed for. It's also wireless. You have the controller talking to a Wi-Fi unit? No, it works on Bluetooth. It's still talking to a computer, then, which is talking to the sub-thrusters. There are multiple points of failure. Well, the controller works perfectly well. We've tested it extensively. That may be true, but every submersible I've ever operated uses hardwired controls for a reason. I mean, if the signal drops out on this, where there's a dead battery or interference, you're screwed. Yeah, but look, just because something hasn't been done before doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. I mean, if the signal drops out on this, where there's a dead battery or I mean, if we're stuck to old methods forever, we'd never innovate. I'm not arguing against innovation. I'm arguing for reliability. I mean, Bluetooth? I can barely get my phone to stay connected to my headphones. I wouldn't want to rely on that 10,000 feet down. But Rob, this is the future. Lighter materials, smarter controls, new approaches. We can't keep building subs the same way people did 50 years ago. Again, I'm not telling you you should. But we can't ignore why things have been done that way for 50 years. People have learned some hard lessons. And I don't think this control system is safe. I'm afraid it's not the only problem I've spotted. Rush's jaw tightens. Well, problems are just challenges we haven't solved yet. By the time Rob McCallum walks out of Ocean Gate's headquarters, he's already made up his mind. He wants nothing to do with Cyclops 2. He's sure that Stockton Rush's radical new design is flawed. But McCallum can already tell that Rush is far too committed to the project to contemplate anything. And as he expected, even though McCallum refuses to endorse the new submersible, Rush pushes ahead. In March 2017, Ocean Gate issues a press release announcing plans to dive to the Titanic with paying passengers aboard. The first expeditions are scheduled for May 2018, barely a year away. Tickets cost the unusual number of $105,129, the exact price of the most expensive suite on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, adjusted for inflation. But despite that hefty price tag, it doesn't take long for the first customers to sign up. But even as Stockton Rush begins to sell seats on Cyclops 2, concerns are growing about its safety. In May 2017, the University of Washington ends its collaboration with Ocean Gate. Experts at UW's Applied Physics Laboratory suggest that elements of the submersible's design are not suitable for diving to extreme depths. There are even some within Ocean Gate that are worried. As Cyclops 2 is on its way to the Titanic, it's not going to be a problem. It's not going to be a problem. As Cyclops 2 nears completion in early 2018, Director of Marine Operations David Lockridge inspects the vessel. And what he finds alarms him. He identifies several safety issues. Components that don't meet specifications. Systems that haven't been fully tested yet. But one thing concerns him more than any other. The porthole on the sub's bow. He's found out that the acrylic window is only certified to around a third of the depth required to reach the Titanic. And he's not happy. So on January 18, the Titanic is on its way to the Titanic. On January 18, 2018, Lockridge puts his concerns in writing and emails his report to Rush. He expects some pushback, but the response he gets takes him by surprise. Lockridge is immediately summoned to a meeting. And inside a conference room at Ocean Gate headquarters, he finds Rush sitting alongside the Directors of Engineering and Quality Assurance. Given what he thinks they're here to discuss, that's no surprise to Lockridge. But more unsettling is the presence of Bonnie Carl, Ocean Gate's Director of Finance and Administration. She's responsible for human resources, too. And suddenly, this looks less like an engineering conference and more like a disciplinary hearing. Lockridge's sense of unease heightens even further when Rush taps his phone and starts an audio recording. Lockridge knows that Rush likes to document Ocean Gate's milestones meticulously, but he rarely records internal meetings. Knowing that everything's being recorded, the mood in the room tightens. Rush opens by asking where Lockridge's concerns have come from. Lockridge explains that his worries aren't new. His doubts have been growing for some time. He raised questions repeatedly, but he feels they've been overlooked. Hearing this, Rush pushes back. He defends the company's safety precautions and insists that Cyclops 2 won't be rushed to depth. Instead, it'll be gradually lowered, going a little deeper each time, with the effects monitored after every dive. In his view, neither the acrylic window nor the carbon fiber hull will fail without warning. There will be plenty of time to spot the danger signs and intervene. But Rush's central argument isn't really technical, it's philosophical. He points out that aviation pioneers did not carry out exhaustive modeling or wait for engineering committees to approve their designs. They took risks, and that's how progress was made. But Lockridge refuses to budge. Cyclops 2 is unproven, and he won't support sending anyone down in it, not even Rush. The two men argue back and forth. The others in the room try to mediate, but neither is backing down. Lockridge realizes that, one of them will have to go, and he knows that in a battle between him and the company's CEO, there's only ever going to be one winner. 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David Lockridge's departure from OceanGate leaves the company with a gaping hole in its structure. As director of marine operations, Lockridge handled almost every aspect of submersible activity, leading expeditions, training new pilots, and ensuring each and every dive ran safely and smoothly. So he will have to be replaced. But after both Lockridge and submersible entrepreneur Rob Callum raised concerns about Cyclops 2, Stockton Rush doesn't want another naysayer in the role. He can't face employing anyone with preconceived notions about how a submersible should work. They'll be skeptical of Cyclops 2's unconventional design features. And with less than six months, until the first planned Titanic expedition, Rush doesn't have time to train a newcomer in the OceanGate way. So in his mind, the safest move is to promote from within. But there is no one at OceanGate who comes close to Lockridge's experience and expertise. So Rush settles on an unexpected choice. He approaches Bonnie Carl, OceanGate's head of finance and administration, and asks her to take over Lockridge's job. Rush believes he can train Carl quickly himself, and thinks that a female pilot would be good for publicity. But Carl was in the room when Lockridge presented his safety concerns. Nothing she heard that day inspired confidence, so she has no intention of climbing inside Cyclops 2, let alone piloting it. So after Rush's surprise offer, she quietly reaches out to a former employer. They're happy to have her back in an accounting role, and within two weeks of Lockridge's exit, Carl hands in her notice. But if Stockton Rush is troubled, by this second, sudden departure, he doesn't show it. He insists he'd rather run a lean operation than keep around someone who doesn't share his vision. In his mind, hesitation and doubt are obstacles to innovation. But although Rush has put Carl and Lockridge firmly in the past, his former employees aren't all done with OceanGate yet, and Lockridge especially is determined to have his voice heard. Three weeks after his exit from OceanGate, Lockridge sits alone at home waiting. Normally at this time in the morning, he would be at work, surrounded by clanking machinery, the clatter of tools, and technicians waiting for instructions. But right now, there's just the low tick of the clock and the faint patter of rain against the windows. But then, at precisely 11 a.m., his phone lights up. He straightens, clears his throat, and then answers. Hello, David Lockridge speaking. Hello, I'm calling from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Whistleblower Protection Program. Is now still a good time? Yes. Yes, it is. Okay, great. Before we start, I will be recording this call. Is that all right by you? Yeah, sure. Okay, here we go. For the record, today is February 8th, 2018, and I am conducting an intake interview of Mr. David Lockridge. So my supervisor forwarded your email, but why don't you start by telling me what's going on? Well, it's about my former employer, OceanGate. I was their director of marine operation, operations until January 19th. I was fired after raising safety concerns about their new submersible. Okay, safety concerns of what nature? Well, structural integrity, testing procedures, component specifications. Can you give me an example? Yeah, sure. So the porthole, for instance. For several months, I had been asking for all the documentation from the engineering director on the design and pressure testing of that window, but they refused to give it to me. Is that normal behavior? Well, at every other company I've worked for, I got, full disclosure. If I'm the pilot, I have to know what I'm getting into, that it's safe and it's secure. I just wanted to know the pressure rating for that window. All right. And you communicated these concerns to the company? Yes. I wrote up a full report and emailed it directly to the CEO, Stockton Rush. The next day, I was called into a meeting with senior staff, but instead of addressing any of the issues I raised, they questioned my judgment. Stockton claimed that pioneers can't wait for perfect data, or whatever, and then I was fired. I see. But I mean, just to be clear, I haven't brought this to your attention because I was fired. Look, I can get another job. It's that if they send this sub to the Titanic, I'm just worried what will happen. There are passengers, passengers who have paid $100,000 each, and they're not safe in that thing. All right. Well, Mr. Lockridge, based on what you've already submitted and what you've just told me, you have the right to file a formal whistleblower report, and that would trigger an official review into the potential safety violations and alleged retaliation. Well, that's what I want. I want this on record. Okay. Understood. So, let me walk you through the process. You'll need to provide the documentation you mentioned, emails, technical notes, anything that supports your concerns. Great. I've kept everything. Okay, good. And then once the report is filed, OSHA will begin a preliminary investigation. You should also be aware that this may involve contacting OceanGate. Yeah, no problem. I expected that. You're doing the right thing, Mr. Lockridge. Not everyone is willing to take a step like this. It's not really about me. It's about the people that are planning to put in that sub. I mean, someone has to protect them. In the days that follow David Lockridge's interview, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, sends OceanGate a formal letter informing them that an investigation is underway. Although it doesn't name Lockridge, Stockton Rush has no doubt who's responsible. OceanGate replies to the letter with a five-page rebuttal addressing Lockridge's complaints and including the audio recording of the dismissal meeting as evidence. Privately, Rush then sets his lawyers on the case. He gives them instructions to sue Lockridge for breaching the confidentiality clause in his contract and making fraudulent claims against OceanGate. But by now, Lockridge isn't the only person raising the alarm. One of OceanGate's initial design partners also has concerns. Several years ago, Rush commissioned Boeing to help design his first carbon fiber submersible, and they remained involved in a limited capacity on Cyclops 2. But when Boeing engineer Mark Negley reviews an interview with the company, he says, The results shock him. According to his calculations, the hull might not survive the pressure at the depth of the Titanic. So in March 2018, Negley emails OceanGate directly with his findings. At the company's headquarters, Director of Engineering Tony Nissen scrolls through Negley's report on his laptop. It's eye-catching stuff. One graph shows the predicted strain on the submersible's hull at different depths. Negley has included a skull and crossbones at 13,000 feet, only just beyond the depth of the Titanic. That means every time it goes to the wreck, Cyclops 2 will be right on the limit of what its hull can safely handle. So after he's finished reading the report, Nissen picks up his laptop and immediately goes looking for his boss, Stockton Rush. He finds him in a corner of the workshop, polishing the gleaming white hull of Cyclops 2. But when Nissen tries to talk to him about the report, Rush just waves it away. He says that he has total failure. He in the carbon fiber hull. And even if there is a risk, they have a safeguard: the acoustic monitoring system. According to Rush, carbon fiber panels don't suddenly fail when placed under strain. They're made up of millions of strands of carbon, each with its own breaking point. So, the hull of the Cyclops II will be embedded with tiny microphones. They're designed to pick up the noise of those strands snapping and alert the crew. A few weak fibers breaking should be nothing to worry about. But if the frequency increases, that will indicate a critical break is about to occur. And at that point, the Cyclops II pilot can simply stop the descent and return the sub safely to the surface. Essentially, the microphones will act as a real-time early warning system, ensuring the sub will never be put in a situation where the hull can fail. Nissen listens. He knows the theory, but he also knows the system has never been tested at extreme depths. So, just to be safe, he suggests bringing Boeing back in. He says that Boeing is only trying to cover themselves. In his eyes, their engineers are trapped in a culture of fear and bureaucracy, the same overly-cautious mindset that slows down innovation everywhere. So, rather than carry out the investigation Negley recommended in his report, Rush decides to sever ties with Boeing altogether. And with that split comes another change. In a symbolic gesture designed to show that OceanGate is breaking with the past, Rush announces a new name for his revolutionary submersible. Going forward, Cyclops II is no more, From now on, Ocean Gate's flagship vessel will be known as the Titan. From Audible Originals and Airship, this is Episode 2 of the Titan Submersible Disaster for American Scandal. In our next episode, driven by ambition and convinced the rules don't apply to him, Stock and Rush pushes Titan deeper and deeper, setting the stage for catastrophe. American Scandal is only possible because of listeners like you, so thank you. And don't miss an episode. Be sure to follow American Scandal on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. And Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American Scandal early and ad-free right now. And to find out more about me, including my other podcasts, my live show, the history tours I'm arranging, and all sorts of other things, go to historyishuman.com. That's historyishuman.com. If you'd like to learn more about the Titan Submersible Disaster, we recommend the documentaries Titan, the Ocean Gate Disaster from Netflix, and Implosion, the Titan Subdisaster from the BBC. This episode contains reenactments and dramatized details. And while in most cases we can't know exactly what was said, all our dramatizations are based on historical research. American Scandal is hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsey Graham, for Airship. This episode is written. Written and researched by Scott Reeves. Senior producer, Andy Beckerman. Managing producer, Emily Burke. Fact-checking by Alyssa Jung-Perry. Audio editing by Mohamed Shazib. Original music by Thrum. Sound design by Gabriel Gould. Executive producer for Airship is William Simpson. Executive producer for Audible is Jenny Lauer-Beckman. Head of creative development at Audible, Kate Navin. Head of Audible Originals, North America, Marshall Louis. And chief content officer, Rachel Giazza. Copyright 2026 by Audible Originals, LLC. Sound recording copyright 2026 by Audible Originals, LLC. What if AI could recreate the voice of somebody you loved who died? What if it destroyed your reputation with words you never said? And what if you fell in love with something that was never human? I'm Mark Finnell, and in my brand new Audible Original podcast, I'm traveling the globe. To investigate the very personal ways AI is already changing our relationships, our memories, and our sense of what is real. Unreal. Listen now on Audible.