Gerald Herber/Associated Press: Even before the oil spill, ultimate authority on the rig was unclear.
A version of this article appeared in print on June 6, 2010, on page A1 of the New York edition.
By IAN URBINA
NEW ORLEANS Over six days in May, far from the familiar choreography of Washington hearings, federal investigators grilled workers involved in the Deepwater Horizon disaster in a chilly, sterile conference room at a hotel near the airport here.
The six-member panel of Coast Guard and Minerals Management Service officials pressed for answers about what occurred on the rig on April 20 before it exploded. They wanted to know who was in charge, and heard conflicting answers.