OceanGate Expeditions via AP, File
- OceanGate’s former engineering director said he refused to take a dive in the ill-fated submersible.
- Tony Nissen testified in a hearing that he had told the CEO, “I’m not getting in it.”
- He said he felt pressured to prepare the Titan submersible for operations.
The Titan submersible’s lead engineer testified at a hearing that he felt pressured to prepare the ill-fated vessel for operations and even refused to do a test dive in it.
OceanGate’s former engineering director, Tony Nissen, testified during a Monday hearing by the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation.
He was asked in the hearing whether he would have felt comfortable going down for a dive in the Titan. Nissen said that his relationship with CEO Stockton Rush soured after he refused to pilot in the submersible.
“I’m not getting in it,” Nissen said he had told Rush, adding he did not trust the operations crew of the vessel.
And when he was asked whether he felt “rushed to start operations,” Nissen replied, “100%.”