BP was held responsible for the Deepwater Horizon explosion, which occurred in 2010 and resulted in the deaths of 11 workers. "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. He was reportedly left badly hurt due to the blast and had to be rescued from his quarters on board the rig. Massive Oil Spill Washes Ashore in the Gulf. or redistributed. The Top-notch FM Transmitters for Your Radio Station! Similarly, Steffy suggests there are different accounts of how Fleytas got off the rig. They navigate these potential pitfalls deftly. "State law also imposes other auditing and procurement constraints. Nicknamed "Mr. Jimmy," Mike Williams recalled seeing Jimmy Harrell when he made it to the bridge after the explosions (Williams did not rescue Harrell outside his stateroom as Mark Wahlberg's character does in the movie). While the movie hones in on BP's Donald Vidrine as the villain, government investigations concluded that it was his BP superiors in Houston who were largely giving the orders for the crew to get work completed on the well, which was 43 days behind schedule. Yancy, along with 3rd Mate Andrea Fleytas, the 23 year old California Maritime Academy graduate, are considered heros for the calm and collected action taken in According to Barbier, British Petroleum owned the 33% of the fault, Transocean owned 30%, and cement contractor Halliburton owned 3%. Home Lifestyle Celebrities Andrea Fleytas: From Deepwater Horizon Survivor to Successful Baker. The Damon B. Bankston was a 262-foot work vessel that had been moored to the Horizon. The movie places the blame mainly on Donald Vidrine's shoulders, but the real-life story is a little different. BP was found guilty of 14 criminal charges, including violations of the Clean Water Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. TikTok Is Banking On Project Texas to Avoid a U.S. Ban. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will receive a total of approximately $14 billion, which includes $5.7 billion from the federal government and a total of $2.5 billion from the Gulf Coast Restoration Authority. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The complexities of offshore drilling are handled mostly through dialogue, powerful subsea visuals, and the occasional brief onscreen explanation, like in one early scene when well pressure and the use of drilling mud to hold back the flow of oil is demonstrated with a Coke can, a straw, and honey as part of a childs school science project. -Deepwater Horizon: Disaster in the Gulf, Yes, though they are not depicted in the movie, several students had an up close view of the catastrophe. ", Yes. Donald Vidrine never testified in the federal hearings due to medical issues that his lawyer said were caused by the blowout. Customers can place orders online, whch she then delivers for a $5 fee per delivery. Because of the high pressure, the company was forced to halt drilling into the ocean about 2,000 feet (610 meters) above its original estimate. It was her dream job. The explosion was caused by a blowout of the well that the rig was drilling. Over the past decade, various studies have confirmed that there are no longer any active leaks from the site. Even as it lays blame at BPs feet, the film buys into the legal argument that BPslowest-level employees, Vidrine and Kaluza, should bear full responsibility. The rig seen in the movie is an 85% scale recreation of the actual Deepwater Horizon rig. Three New, True Stories From the Texas-Mexico Border, In Magazine Dreams, Jonathan Majors Builds Himself Up to Fall Apart, How Florence ButtNot Her SonLaunched the H-E-B Empire. Remember, the Deepwater Horizon was just looking for oil and was not there to pump it. Miraculously, 115 crew members escaped the raging inferno. 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. You may cancel your subscription at anytime by calling Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. The bakery offers fresh-baked breads, scones, muffins, and cookies to those in Long Beach, Seal Beach and Los Alamitos areas with a $5 delivery fee. Ms. Fleytas grabbed the radio and began calling over a signal monitored by the Coast Guard and other vessels. It's inevitable. And I fell for what seemed like forever," he told 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley. Fleytas story is even more remarkable when you consider that she is one of the stars of Peter Bergs 2016 movie Deepwater Horizon which is based on the events surrounding the explosion. Forbes estimates the 1999 revenues of Hearst Corp. at $4.4 billion. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. Deepwater Horizon, though, succeeds by keeping its focus on the rig workers, who are shown as knowledge and noble. When I started off, I was very nervous. Andrea Fleytas, a 23-year-old worker who helped operate the rig's sophisticated navigation machinery, suddenly noticed a glaring oversight: No one had 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. Does Abby Have An Eating Disorder Ginny And Georgia? Theres a lot more. She offers a variety of baked goods such as bread, scones, muffins and cookies. PART II. Murray, who was in that same raft, told me in 2011 that Fleytas was in it. "We felt the shockwave. WebAt 9:53 p.m. on April 20, 2010, Andrea Fleytas sent a Mayday signal from the Deepwater Horizon, a mobile oil rig sitting some 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of The actress plays crew member Andrea Fleytas, who survived the explosion that occurred on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. Yes, the chief electronics technician on the Deepwater Horizon, Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg in the movie), jumped 10 stories into the Gulf of Mexico in order to escape the flames that had engulfed the rig. Vidrine alone makes all the decisions, and all of them are bad. In addition, the films special effects are extremely realistic and help to recreate a sense of tension and dread as events unfold in real time. The rig burned and sank, snapping off the mile-long drill pipe between the rig and the sea floor, and unleashing a flow of oil that would continue for 87 days and release almost 5 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and injuring 16 others. "Sadly, Burkeen was one of Johnson's best friends and Burkeen was the only man lost from Johnson's crew," they wrote. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Eleven workers were killed in the explosion and were near the drilling floor when they were evacuated, and the rest of the crew were not accounted for until two days later, when the rig sank to the sea bottom. Join Facebook to connect with Andrea Fleytas and others you may know. The chain of command broke down at times during the crisis, according to many crew members. Fleytas knew many of the people who died on the Transocean-owned platform. On average, the contingency fee is around 33% . Flames were spreading rapidly, power was out, and terrified workers were leaping into the dark, oil-coated sea. Fleytas spent roughly $25,000 on a four-tray convection oven, a 13-quart mixer and shelves and shelves of glass jars to store everything from fine whole-wheat It took a short time for the pre-cementing tests to be cut off, preventing technicians from inspecting the bottom of the well for leaks of oil. 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. WebToday, Fleytas sees the business growing. The 27-year-old Long Beach resident studied marine transportation at California Maritime Academy in Vallejo and earned a 3rd mates license to navigate with unlimited tonnage. As part of the settlement, it agreed to replace Feinberg with Patrick Juneau, a lawyer from Lafayette, La. No, oil is no longer leaking from the Deepwater Horizon. 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 addition to the spill's heavy environmental toll, its financial one has currently cost BP $53.8 billion in cleanup, fines and settlements. BP's team of scientists and engineers dubbed the "crisis team" came up with several plans to contain the spill. Since July 15, 2010, the well has been permanently sealed and all sources of oil have been stopped. Harrell had been battling cancer for a year prior to his death. Yes, BP is stil paying for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that occurred in 2010. The version we see in the movie is quite similar to the story you hear in Mike Williams'60 Minutesinterview, the segment that drew Berg to this material in the first place. And, as a result, the company paid a $20 billion settlement for the Fleytas came home and dropped her classes online and dived headfirst into another passion: baking. The real Mike Williams acknowledged accuracies "all the way down to the salt and pepper shakers in the galley." However, according to Sears, there are still systemic problems that must be addressed in order for the disaster to be averted in the future. Harrell was the rig's offshore installation manager (OIM). "Cameron International removed his suit to federal court, and the multi district judges transferred it to Barbier.Fleytas, Bertone and Ingram sued BP and Halliburton this April, in New Castle County Superior Court at Wilmington, Del.Their lawyers declared Delaware jurisdiction proper because both defendants were Delaware corporations.They identified Fleytas as a dynamic positioning officer from California, Bertone as an engine room worker from Mississippi, and Ingram as a supply worker from Mississippi.They sought damages for severe injuries under the Jones Act, which provides state court jurisdiction for injuries to seamen.They warned that they would seek sanctions against anyone who removed their cases to federal court.BP removed their cases to federal court in Wilmington anyway, claiming plaintiffs fraudulently tried to defeat federal jurisdiction by failing to sue Transocean as their true Jones Act employer.In a procedural maze, Transocean moved to dismiss their claims in New Orleans while the claims remained pending in Wilmington.Multi district judges caught up, transferring the cases to Barbier on Oct. 11. 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. 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 jump was incredibly brave and heroic gien the circumstances and is said to have been seen by many of his co-workers on board as a final act of courage before succumbing to the flames. He was responsible for overseeing the crew on board and ensuring that all safety protocols were followed. Now Im very happy, Fleytas said. Ultimately, Andrea Fleytas story serves as an inspiration for many. Andrea Fleytas is a Long Beach native who has since become an inspiring figure to many. No, mainly for the fact that it was far too deep for divers. As explained in the movie, the negative test was done to determine whether the cement job to seal the well had worked. Leave them blank to get signed up. However,Texas Monthly reporterLoren Steffy, who has written extensively about the event, points outthat in the same60 Minutes interview, Williams says he jumped first and left Fleytas behind. 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. However, a sticky oil residue still coats some marshland in the Gulf of Mexico due to residual oil from the spill that was not able to be fully cleaned up. 21: An oil slick is seen as the Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in the Gulf of Mexico. Theres also the issue of the real story lacking a true main character, but this is addressed with true Hollywood screenwriting flair. We get the scenes where Wahlberg's adorable daughter explains how an oil rig works, the irony-rich moments of listening to BP suits demand the workers speed up, and the death-defying leaps. For 87 days, an estimated 377,514 metric tonnes of oil were released into the Gulf from the pipe. But What Is It? He appears to be perplexed and unmoored, as if he has no feelings at all. That account of events, with Fleytas jumping into a raft, matches up with the version of the incident presented in the Wall Street Journal's 2010 detailed account of the tragedy. Campbells Soup Sales Were Declining. Williams valiantly saves her by throwing her from the rig, then jumps himself. ACTING ON INTERNAL CLIMATE MIGRATION. Nothing but flames." Ultimately, Mike survived after being rescued from the water by a nearby boat. Report Video Issue. Bill Cosby paid his sexual assault accuser Andrea Constand $3.5 million in hush money in 2006, The Post has learned. Warning: this post contains spoilers for the movie Deepwater Horizon. -LATimes.com. In the minutes after a cascade of gas explosions crippled the Deepwater Horizon on April 20, confusion reigned on the drilling platform. While thumbing through one of the books, she came across the famed International Culinary Center in New York Citys lower Manhattan. -Deepwater Horizon: Disaster in the Gulf. 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. Sara called several burn units in Alabama and Louisiana in a panic. It was also responsible for the greatest amount of air pollution in the country, as well as the loss of wetlands. She was then rescued aftr 8 hours in the water and was subsequently honored with a bravery award for her heroic actions. However, after a lengthy legal battle, two of the accused were acquitted while two others pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and received probationary sentences. Today, Fleytas sees the business growing. Does that discrepancy make Mike Williams any less of a real life hero? The Deepwater Horizon true story reveals that the rig was located 52 miles off the coast of Venice, Louisiana. Berg shoots all these events with his ever-roving camera, putting us in the middle of the chaos and confusion. 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. Despite the disaster at the Deepwater Horizons oil rig, oil production in the Gulf of Mexico continues to rise. In the minutes after a cascade of gas explosions crippled the Deepwater Horizon on April 20, confusion reigned on the drilling platform. That includes everything from container ships to semi-submersible drilling platforms. After the disaster, he heard the hymn sung at the memorial services of his coworkers (LATimes.com). Many of them chose to stay, and their quick thinking and brave actions helped to minimize the damage. Yes, Mr. Jimmy Harrell was a real person on the Deepwater Horizon. In our investigation into the Deepwater Horizon true story, we learned that during the hearings, Senator Jeff Sessions expressed his disappointment at the lack of information offered by industry witnesses, stating that the senators and congressmen had learned more from watching Williams' 60 Minutes interview. The state law is designed to help business owners like Fleytas who want to start off small real small. Prosecutors argued that Vidrine and rig supervisor Robert Kaluza botched a critical pressure test ("negative test") that would have warned them a catastrophe was looming. Inside the Bro-tastic Party Mansions Upending a Historic Austin Community. Lawyers who work on contingency only get paid if they win you money. "It was the loudest thing I've ever heard in my life." Saras paintings captured the raw emotion that was brought to life by the hearings raw grief. How Repaying Student Loans Is ChangingDramatically, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Loses Re-Election Bid, Says "We Put This City on a Better Path", How Chipotle's Stock Price More Than Quadrupled in Five Years, Apples iPhone Passcode Problem: How Thieves Can Take Over in Minutes. The industry that betrayed Stephen corrupted his sense of security and moral bearings. 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. 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