'We run the risk:' Documents detail OceanGate’s battle with whistleblower years before fatal Titan implosion

A former employee warned company executives about the inefficiency of their hull design and the company's testing methods.

Years before an OceanGate submersible tragically imploded on its way to the wreckage of the Titanic, a former employee warned company executives about the inefficiency of their hull design and the company's testing methods. The employee, who worked on the predecessor to the vessel that imploded, claimed his warnings went "dismissed on several occasions."

The search for OceanGate's submersible, Titan 2, after it disappeared with five people onboard in June 2023 and the subsequent discovery that it imploded made headlines worldwide. Among the passengers who died were British entrepreneur Hamish Harding, Pakistani investor Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, and OceanGate's own CEO Stockton Rush. Descending on June 18, the passengers embarked with the hope of exploring the Titanic wreckage, until the vessel imploded at some point during its descent.

The exact cause of the implosion is still under investigation by federal authorities, but there's been intense scrutiny of the Seattle-based company's past legal and regulatory battles.

David Lochridge was OceanGate's director of marine operations until he was terminated from the company in 2018. ABC News previously reported on lawsuits between Lochridge and OceanGate shortly after he left the company.

Those lawsuits give a surface summary of a "Quality Report" that Lochridge performed on the "Cyclops 2" submersible, also known as Titan. ABC News has obtained the report and more documents detailing Lochridge's pleas to Rush to find a new method of testing the hull for cracks or holes.