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Cameraman Brian Weed said he took a test dive on the ill-fated OceanGate submersible in May 2021.
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Weed said CEO Stockton Rush got “flustered” when comms went out and the propulsion system failed.
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Rush then tried to “make light” of the situation and attempted to reboot the vessel’s system, per Weed.
A documentary cameraman who took a test dive in the Titan submersible said OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush got “flustered” and tried to make excuses when its propulsion system failed and comms went out during a trial run.
Brian Weed, a camera operator for the Discovery Channel series “Expedition Unknown“, told the Associated Press that during a May 2021 test dive, the vessel’s communication systems went offline and its propulsion system failed. This happened in relatively shallow depths of around 100 feet, per Weed’s account.
“You could tell that he was flustered and not really happy with the performance,” Weed said of Rush. “But he was trying to make light of it, trying to make excuses.”
Weed added that Rush then tried to reboot the submersible’s system. The CEO also attempted to use the vessel’s touch screens to troubleshoot problems with the craft, per Weed.
Weed and his team were working on a documentary project featuring the OceanGate submersible. But the team decided not to take a full dive in the Titan after they got concerned about the safety of the vessel’s carbon-fiber hull, among other reasons.
Following the test dive, Weed’s production company engaged an unnamed consultant with the US Navy to review the submersible, the AP reported. This consultant warned Weed and his team about the Titan’s carbon-fiber hull, and raised concerns that it would not remain fully effective with multiple deep dives.
“I felt like every time the vessel goes down, it’s going to get weaker and weaker,” Weed told the AP. “And that’s a little bit like playing Russian roulette.”
Josh Gates, the host of “Expedition Unknown,” tweeted on June 21 that he “walked away” from the chance to film the OceanGate submersible because of “safety concerns.”
“We had issues with thruster control,” Gates told “The Today Show” on June 22. “We had issues with the computers aboard, we had issues with comms. I just felt as though the sub needed more time, and it needed more more testing, frankly.”
All five passengers on the Titan, including Rush himself, were declared dead after the submersible imploded during a June 18 dive to the Titanic shipwreck.
Representatives for OceanGate did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.
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