The explosion was caused by a blowout of the well that the rig was drilling. Murray, who was in that same raft, told me in 2011 that Fleytas was in it. BP was charged with gross negligence and willful misconduct in failing to take necessary safety measures and failing to monitor for potential problems that could have prevented the explosion. Six and a half years ago, one of the most advanced offshore oil drilling rigs ever built exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 of its 126 crew members. The onscreen Vidrine is played by John Malkovich, who literally sinks his teeth into the role. However, on the 37th day after the explosion, that number was revised to 798,000 gallons/day. Many people believe that Vidrine and Robert Kaluza were simply scapegoats for the oil giant. -Deepwater Horizon: Disaster in the Gulf, "I heard this awful hissing noise," the real Mike Williams said during a 60 Minutes interview, "and at the height of the hiss, a huge explosion. Flames were spreading rapidly, power was out, and terrified workers were leaping into the dark, oil-coated sea. WebAndrea Fleytas is on Facebook. Fatalities in the offshore industry are four times higher in the United States than in the United Kingdom. Since July 15, 2010, the well has been permanently sealed and all sources of oil have been stopped. "BP sought to impose discovery obligations on the state of Louisiana that are premature and unwarranted in light of their expense. The workers who survived the initial explosion were faced with a difficult decision: stay and try to help contain the spill, or evacuate and hope for the best. Andrea Fleytas is now a successful home baker in the Long Beach, Seal Beach and Los Alamitos areas. Sara grew up in a household where hitchhiking was a part of life and where her father frequently went months without leaving the house. Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell appealed Shushan's order to Barbier on Oct. 31, calling it unreasonable. Like many moments in director Peter Berg's disaster film, it's exciting, terrifying, emotionally overwhelming, and a little over the top. Theres a lot more. Protected by Google ReCAPTCHA. Every aspect of the tragedy is accurately portrayed, from the chain of command on board to Mike Williams decision to help save his crewmates before evacuating himself. All rights reserved. Despite the tragedy she experienced, Fleytas is still dedicated to making an impact in her community through her business and is inspiring many with her tenacity and courage. Mike Hall writes about criminals, musicians, the law, and barbecue. Did Apocalypse Survive The Snap In Infinity War? A second rig would come along later to do that. That includes everything from container ships to semi-submersible drilling platforms. Berg and Wahlberg should provoke similar eyebrow-raising over their next team-up,Patriots Day,a ripped-from-headlines movieabout the Boston marathon bombing, coming later this year. Apr. At times, movie Mike portrays actions taken by real Mikes colleagues, like Chad Murray, the chief electrician, who isnt portrayed in the film but who, in the real disaster, returned twice into the bowels of the rig to save injured colleagues. The economic impact of the spill was felt not only along the Gulf Coast but also throughout the country. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Gulf Coast Restoration Authority, and the state of Alabama will each receive a portion of the funds. This included thousands of people who were affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with payments ranging from a few thousand dollars to millions of dollars. Over the past decade, various studies have confirmed that there are no longer any active leaks from the site. The Justice Department announced today that as part of a $4 billion criminal fine and penalty settlement, the company pleaded guilty to 14 counts of criminal culpability in connection with the 2010 Deepwater Horizons disaster and was sentenced to pay a $4 billion fine and penalty. Kuchta realized what she had done, he reprimanded her, she says. In January 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which had previously been stationed in the Gulf of Mexico, arrived at Macondo to begin work on the well. No, mainly for the fact that it was far too deep for divers. On April 20, 2010, an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing eleven people. Does that discrepancy make Mike Williams any less of a real life hero? Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The Deepwater Horizon true story reveals that the rig was located 52 miles off the coast of Venice, Louisiana. The Deepwater Horizon disaster was a tragic event that impacted the lives of many people. Deepwater Horizon was remarkably accurate in its depiction of the events that took place on the drilling rig on April 20th, 2010. Market data provided by Factset. Yes. There have been several oil spills in the United States, but this one was the worst, and it took years for it to be cleaned up. Much of Williams story holds to the truthhis escape from his shop after the initial blast, his efforts to restart a backup generator and his dramatic leap from the deck of the burning rig. The buckling of the pipe meant that even if the rig team had attempted to cut the pipe, they would have been unable to do so. Nothing but flames." Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate fights soft-on-crime allegations, School worker can sue over claim boss targeted 'overpaid white people', Court: Objectors added little to $85M Zoom settlement, won't get attorney fees, Balance of Wisconsin Supreme Court hinges on April 4 election, Consumers claims Fabuloso cleaner contains dangerous bacteria. In fact, there were several survivors who made it off the rig before it sunk into the Gulf. The dead were never found. The pipe, called a riser, had severed when the rig drifted after it lost power. According to Barbier, British Petroleum owned the 33% of the fault, Transocean owned 30%, and cement contractor Halliburton owned 3%. As of July 1st, over 260,000 private parties had submitted claims for compensation and BP had paid out to thse individuals in an effort to make amends for the disaster. The states Department of Public Health monitors the program, along with local business and licensing departments that issue so-called cottage food permits. "State law also imposes other auditing and procurement constraints. -WashingtonPost.com, Yes, but this happened the following morning, not the night of the disaster. -60 Minutes. Prosecutors instead pursued a misdemeanor pollution charge for which Vidrine received 10 months' probation. For example, the guidelines require that a rig worker attempting to contain a gas emergency had to call two senior rig officials before deciding what to do. Home Lifestyle Celebrities Andrea Fleytas: From Deepwater Horizon Survivor to Successful Baker. Cobbled Deepslate A Not So Ordinary Block, Coordinator: The Key To Bringing People Together, Carbon Monoxides Boiling Point and Other Factoids, Enter the Fictional World of Clyvedon Castle from Bridgerton. (if applicable) for The Wall Street Journal. The actors and actresses also closely resemble their real-life counterparts, making it easy for viewers to understand what really happened during this fateful event. Movie Mike is alone on the burning platform with his 23-year-old co-worker Andrea Fleytas (Gina Rodriquez), who, overcome by fear, is afraid to jump. Similarly, the Times story about the making of the movie makes a point of noting, "In real life, Gina Rodriguezs character, a bridge officer named Andrea Fleytas, didnt play a role in a climactic scene in the movie." Andrea Fleytas: From Deepwater Horizon Survivor to Successful Baker, How Tall Is Kristin Chenoweth And Other Interesting Facts About Her, 7 Facts About Juice WRLD Grave, Death And Life, Andrea Bocellis Sons: A Story of Grit, Love, and Perseverance, Miracle on the Sea: Andrea Gails Crew Bodies Found, Remembering Jeff Kay Johnnys Friend from Cobra Kai. -Deepwater Horizon: Disaster in the Gulf. "Deepwater Horizon," starring Mark Wahlberg, tells the story of the worst oil spill in American history. William Armstrong is a senior editor with H-O-M-E.org, where he writes on a wide variety of topics. Deepwater Horizon has already faced fact-checking criticism, both for the way it treats the culpability of BP -- engineer Donald Vidrine, portrayed by a scenery-chewing, Cajun-accent-wielding John Malkovich in the film, is framed as the movie's villain -- and for the way it portrays the actions of Wahlberg's main character. Where Should Fire Alarms Be Installed For Optimal Safety? "Louisiana has faced budget challenges over the past two years, and any extraordinary expenses must be justified," Caldwell wrote. In 1937, a year after he visited the coalfields of Yorkshire and Lancashire, George Orwell wrote about societys dependence on the people who extract these resources. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), CDC issues warning over increase of drug-resistant bacteria that causes fever, bloody diarrhea, PayPal is searching for a CEO who can reverse its $279 billion stock drop, Eli Lilly to cut insulin prices, cap costs at $35 for many people with diabetes, Rep. Michelle Steel speaks in House panel on U.S.-China relations, calling it personal, Southern California home sales fall to all-time low, Teacher at Irvines Beckman High School arrested after recording devices found in restroom, Final bones of 50-year-old Laguna Hills mall are coming down, OC students snowed in at science camps are coming home, Killer keto? Andrea Fleytas, a 23-year-old worker who helped operate the rig's sophisticated navigation machinery, suddenly noticed a glaring oversight: No one had issued a distress signal to the outside world, she recalls in an interview. The explosion and subsequent fire on the rig, which was owned by Transocean and leased by BP, released an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. She currently runs her own home-baked goods delivery service and provides delicious treats to customers in Long Beach, Seal Beach and Los Alamitos. Customers can place orders online, whch she then delivers for a $5 fee per delivery. Fleytas later told U.S. Coast Guard investigators she was last They determined that the oil was leaking out of the severed pipe attached to the top of the blowout preventer (BOP), which itself had failed to seal the well. A month after the explosion, approximately 750 vessels and 17,000 people assisted in the response. Fleytas, Bertone and Ingram sued BP and Halliburton this April, in New Castle County Superior Court at Wilmington, Del. Sara was irritated when she saw BPs TV commercials that promoted the companys environmental commitment. WebThe settlement includes up to $425 million to help people affected by the data breach. On September 19, 2010, the well was finally sealed, and it was only the third time that the company attempted to cap it. or redistributed. "Within these constraints, the state is responding to the discovery propounded, while also upholding the obligation to maintain critical services to the public. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. (WSJ's reporting on the event does not include Williams.) In Deepwater Horizon, Rodriguez plays Andrea Fleytas, a 23-year-old Latina from San Diego who was one of the few women on board an oil rig off the coast of Florida It was also responsible for the greatest amount of air pollution in the country, as well as the loss of wetlands. "He was in pretty bad shape." Stephen Stone worked on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig for Sara Lattis Stone when she was a teenager. 16,000 miles of coastline were affected, including the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida (, Deepwater Horizon Footage & Mike Williams Interview, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, video of the Deepwater Horizon engulfed in flames, Watch video of the Deepwater Horizon sinking, David Barstow's Article "Deepwater Horizons Final Hours" that Inspired the Movie. Transocean offered him $5,000 in compensation for personal belongings he lost on the rig after the blowout, but he accepted. As evidenced by both witnesses and video of the Deepwater Horizon engulfed in flames, the real-life explosion was equally as bad as what's shown in the movie. The chain of command broke down at times during the crisis, according to many crew members. The real Donald Vidrine had faced manslaughter charges for the deaths of the 11 rig workers but the charges were thrown out by the courts. Stephen was prone to paranoia and panic attacks as a result of his sensitivity to loud noises. "He wrote that they asserted the Fifth Amendment scores or hundreds of times.Johnson, 10 other workers, and three survivors of workers who died in the explosion filed suit at district court in Galveston County, Texas, 23 days after the explosion.They sued Transocean, rig operator BP, cement contractor Halliburton, blowout prevention contractor Cameron International, and Sperry-Sun Drilling Services.In the complaint, their lawyers identified Johnson as a Louisiana resident and a deck pusher who supervised the late Aaron Burkeen.They wrote that Johnson inhaled smoke as he rushed to get his crew to life rafts. Harrell had been battling cancer for a year prior to his death. The explosion killed 11 people and caused the rig to sink. Also view an interview with the real Caleb Holloway, who is portrayed by Dylan O'Brien in the movie. Portrayed by John Malkovich in the movie, visiting BP executive and acting rig supervisor Donald Vidrine insists on going ahead despite complaints of faulty equipment and unfinished checks. "I began to crawl across the floor. Many of them chose to stay, and their quick thinking and brave actions helped to minimize the damage. Ultimately, Mike survived after being rescued from the water by a nearby boat. -NYTimes.com, No. The settlement brings the total cost of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to $27.4 billion. Most failed. The real Mike Williams acknowledged accuracies "all the way down to the salt and pepper shakers in the galley." It features grime-covered superstars dodging huge explosions, an excruciating shard-of-glass-from-the-foot extraction, and bumbling managers who must be saved by their street-smart (or rig-smart) grunts. More Blogs. The well head was 5,000 feet below the surface where the pressure is 150 times that on land. $ + tax Once in the water, Williams described his scramble to get away from the burning oil around him. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. "I believe that the movie-star version of this movie is going to be a more profitable movie," producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told the New York Times in an article about the making of the film. The spill was the result of an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which was owned by BP. It's inevitable. You know, this is it, I'm gonna die right here. Ya know, I just don't know. Chief Electronics Technician Mike Williams had just hung up from a call with his wife when he heard the engines revving, saw the lights glowing, and heard the alarms (in the movie, his wife sees his room get brighter on a video call but in real life he was already off the call with her). Video of the explosions and inferno was shot by crewmembers of a nearby ship that was moving in closer to try and help. The Deepwater Horizons oil spill in 2010 is regarded as one of the worlds largest marine oil spills. WebAndrea Fleytas testified via telephone at the U.S. Coast Guard and Bureau of Energy Management joint investigation of the April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion The routine was the same every day, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the rig killed 11 crewmen, leaving the well gushing at the seabed and causing the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. 17 were injured. He had worked for Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, as a supervisor, but he is no longer with the company. There are limitations on sales, like $45,000 in 2014, and $50,000 next year and beyond. She was then rescued aftr 8 hours in the water and was subsequently honored with a bravery award for her heroic actions. As a result, the cement was pumped at a lower rate than was recommended, increasing the risk of the cement not fully filling the space around the casing. The company also pleaded guilty to obstruction of Congress for providing misleading information about how much oil was flowing from the well ater it exploded. "[Chief electrician Chad] Murray, who was in that same raft, told me in 2011 that Fleytas was in it.". It was essentially a large boat that was floating on the water, unlike some oil rigs that are supported by stilts that reach the ocean floor. In addition, the company will compensate the families of the victims and provide them with funds. The worst offshore oil disaster in U.S. history is getting the Hollywood treatment in Deepwater Horizon, out today. Of those on board, Andrea Fleytas was one of few to survive. NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Deepwater Horizon rig owner Transocean and five workers settled personal injury suits that the workers undercut by pleading Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination.Jason Itkin, of Arnold and Itkin in Houston, reported the settlement to U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally Shushan on Oct. 21.Transocean had moved in August to dismiss claims of Bill Johnson, Allen Seriale, Andrea Fleytas, Stephen Bertone, and James Ingram.Transocean also sought relief from any obligation to continue making maintenance and cure payments to them.Transocean lawyer Kerry Miller of New Orleans alleged they hid behind the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions about their injuries.Miller wrote that a Department of Justice investigation of last year's explosion "caused the specter of criminal charges to hang over the heads of certain individuals. The latter rendered his left arm nearly useless as he tried to help the crew get off the ship. Despite the disaster at the Deepwater Horizons oil rig, oil production in the Gulf of Mexico continues to rise. Only certain food products such as bread, cookies, coffee and other commodities can be made under the law. The crew had been in the final stages of shutting down the exploratory Macondo Well located more than 18,000 feet below the surface. She delivers her goodies to Make Collectives, located at 430 E. First St., where they are available for pickup. "It's one of the largest sets ever constructed in the history of film," says star Mark Wahlberg, who portrays chief electronics technician Mike Williams. All in all, Deepwater Horizon is an incredibly accurate portrayal of this tragic disaster. In the end, there was a lot of blame to go around, which was the result of several oversights and missteps made by BP, Transocean, and Halliburton. William was born in Denton, TX and currently resides in Austin. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. According to Donald Trump, offshore drilling should be permitted in 90% of US coastal waters. WebFor example, a settlement of $10,000 would result in a $3,333 payment to your lawyer and $6,667 for you to take home. The deepest a human can dive is a little over 1,000 feet. Log In. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. In real-life, investigations concluded that a Transocean employee who perished in the disaster was the source of the "bladder effect" hypothesis, not Vidrine. Her majored in art and photography at college, which she used to express herself through visual medium. His description of his own jump is chilling. To help battle the worst ecological disaster our nation has ever faced, millions of feet of containment boom were laid with the help of local fishermen. It was her quick thinking and courage that savd her life and the lives of many others. Vidrine alone makes all the decisions, and all of them are bad. 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