OceanGate charged six-figure prices to dive to Titanic ruins. Passengers had the title “mission specialist,” but the work was menial, a fellow sub operator said.

Justin Jackson, a materials engineer with NASA, testified Thursday during the U.S. Coast Guard's hearing into the June 2023 implosion of the OceanGate submersible.

A former OceanGate employee said he resigned from the submersible company after its co-founder, Stockton Rush, told him he would "buy a congressman" to make any problems with its Titan vessel go away.