Long before an eruption of gas turned the Deepwater Horizon oil rig into a fireball, an alarm system designed to alert the crew and prevent combustible gases from reaching potential sources of ignition had been deliberately disabled, the former chief electronics technician on the rig testified Friday. Michael Williams said he understood that the rig had been operating with the system in "inhibited" mode for a year to prevent false alarms from disturbing the crew. Williams said the explanation he got was that the leadership of the rig did not want crew members needlessly awakened in the middle of the night.
