Were warning signs ignored? Things to know about this week's testimony on the Titan sub disaster

abcnews.go.com:

Last year, five people hoping to view the Titanic wreckage died when their submersible imploded in the Atlantic Ocean

Last year, five people hoping to view the Titanic wreckage died when their submersible imploded in the Atlantic Ocean. This week, a Coast Guard panel that's investigating the Titan disaster listened to four days of testimony that has raised serious questions about whether warning signs were ignored. The panel plans to listen to another five days of testimony next week.

Here's what witnesses have been saying so far:

When testifying about a dive that took place several years before the fatal accident, lead engineer Tony Nissen said he felt pressured to get the Titan ready and he refused to pilot it.

“I’m not getting in it," Nissen said he told Stockton Rush, the co-founder of OceanGate, the company that owned the Titan. Nissen said Rush was difficult to work for, made demands that often changed day-to-day, and was focused on costs and schedules. Nissen said he tried to keep his clashes with Rush hidden so others in the company wouldn't be aware of the friction.

Scientific director Steven Ross said that on a dive just a few days before the Titan imploded, the vessel had a problem with its ballast, which keeps vessels stable. The issue caused passengers to “tumble about" and crash into the bulkhead, he said.

“One passenger was hanging upside down. The other two managed to wedge themselves into the bow,” Ross testified.

He said nobody was injured but it took an hour to get the vessel out of the water. He said he didn't know if a safety assessment or hull inspection was carried out after the incident.

A paid passenger on a 2021 mission to the Titanic said the journey was aborted when the vessel started