EVERETT, WA (AP) – A key employee who labeled an experimental submersible as unsafe prior to its last, fatal voyage testified that he felt the company was committed only to making money.

David Lochridge, OceanGate’s former operations director, has appeared before a commission trying to determine what caused the Titan to implode near the wreckage of the Titanic last year. His testimony echoed that of other former employees, one of whom described OceanGate head Stockton Rush as volatile and difficult to work with. Rush was among the five people who died in the implosion.

Lochridge joined the company in the mid-2010s as a veteran engineer and submersible pilot and said he quickly came to feel he was being used to lend the company scientific credibility. Lochridge referenced a 2018 report in which he raised safety issues about OceanGate operations.

Employee turnover was very high at the time, and leadership dismissed his concerns because they were more focused on bad engineering decisions. He eventually was fired after raising the safety concerns.

OceanGate, based in Everett, suspended its operations after the implosion.

The ongoing Marine Board of Investigation is the highest level of marine casualty investigation conducted by the Coast Guard.