Brent Forrester is mourning mates, including close friend Ricky Keane, 28, who died in a series of explosions in the West Coal mine, the first on November 19.
There had always been questions over gas levels and ventilation in the mine, he told the Sunday programme last night.
"This was totally preventable, in my opinion, and there were signs of bad ventilation. There's evidence of it through different texts that miners have (sent), through comments they've made leading up to the explosion," Mr Forrester said.
"There's been gas issues, there's been ventilation issues.
"Did management even know about it? Were they even told? I don't know.
"It just goes to show that the partnership between management and workers didn't work, in my opinion."
Confusion reigned over how many men were down the mine when the first explosion ripped through it, as 36 tags were still on the board at the mine's entrance -- a sign of inadequate safety measures, Mr Forrester said.
"When you go into the mine you put your tag on the board, when you come out you take your tag off the board. It's not rocket science," he said.
"It's very important to know where your guys are.
"Even (in) questioning after the explosion, they still don't know where everyone was."
Mr Forrester said when he first joined Pike River Coal in August 2008 he believed safety was good and management knew what they were doing. There were procedures for everything and he was "confident that Pike River Coal was going to go a long way".
But he became worried when nothing appeared to done to rectify issues, and the culture was "us and them" between workers and management.
He once instigated a walkout over safety, because only one vehicle was available to get men out of the pit in an emergency, and it was being used to ferry contractors in and out.
His mate, Ricky, was one of those who walked out that day, as was Daniel Herg, who also perished.
"Management were waiting for us when they got out ... they weren't too happy about it."
He would testify before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the disaster if asked, Mr Forrester said.
"It's not about me. It's about trying to find out the truth, find out what has happened to these 29 guys who have been left in the mine."
Pike River chief executive Peter Whittall told Sunday the mine had "more than enough" ventilation but gas was a hazard -- as it was in nearly all the mines he had worked in.
"I accept that mines shouldn't blow up, and I accept that mines should have every system in place to make sure that they can detect the safety conditions underground," Mr Whittall said.
"On that day, was it preventable? Probably, and we may know what factors led to that eventually and therefore be able to prevent that same occurrence again."
He was not aware of any safety issues which were raised but not addressed, and said he would have acted if he had suspected there were any "cover-ups or oppression of those complaints".
He confirmed miners had once walked off the job because they felt no vehicle was available if there was an emergency, but said there was one mobile and available. The mine was only 2km long, so the vehicle would have been on the scene very quickly if needed.
The issue had never been raised again, Mr Whittall said.
He also confirmed there was confusion over how many people were down the mine when the first explosion first hit and said it had been an ongoing issue getting workers to take their tags off the board when they left the mine.
"The reinforcing message to guys is always 'can you imagine if there was an emergency and your family thought you were in the mine but you weren't really'."
