From NASA laboratories to courtrooms around the world, WHA International has built a legacy of trusted failure analysis services grounded in hands-on experience and technical rigor. In this conversation, we get to hear from Dr. Barry Newton, a foundational figure in WHA’s forensic work, and Bradley “Brad” Forsyth, who has spent nearly two decades at Barry’s side and now leads the company’s failure analysis team. Together, they reflect on the history, growth, and future of this uniquely capable and respected service area.

So, how did each of you get into failure analysis?

Barry Newton: I started with NASA at the White Sands Test Facility, where I worked on the first 25 shuttle Orbiter flights. In about 1988, I was asked by the Johnson Space Center attorneys to provide testimony on behalf of NASA on a commercial forensic case that had to do with an oxygen regulator burnout. That was my first time testifying as an expert witness. Shortly after, in 1989, I began working with Wendell Hull and Associates in forensic analysis and expert witness services. Now, I believe WHA is working internationally in 48 different countries.

Brad Forsyth: My story’s a bit similar. My career also started at the NASA White Sands test facility, where I worked for 10 years after completing my engineering degree. There, I received a really broad background in high-pressure equipment and hazardous fluids, including oxygen and hydrogen. I landed a job with Wendell Hull and Associates, and today is actually my 18th anniversary at WHA.

Barry Newton: Congrats!

Brad Forsyth: Thanks. Over those 18 years, I’ve been involved in evaluating hazards associated with fluids like high-pressure gaseous oxygen, cryogenic oxygen, nitrous oxide and fuel gases. Fire and explosion are always an issue with these fluids. In the past 10 years or so, the majority of the work I’ve been involved in has been failure analysis work, with a substantial portion in litigation services.

Barry Newton: Brad has been my go-to guy for failure analysis support for most of the time he’s been there. We’ve worked hand-in-hand on many cases.

How did your time at NASA shape the work you do now?

Barry Newton: I started from the very beginning at NASA with a background in specialized testing and failure analysis, especially with high-pressure oxygen, fuel gases, hypergolic fuels and oxidizers, and other hazardous fluids. After I left NASA, commercial industry companies that knew me from my NASA work began to ask me if I could help them with hazardous testing. So we took two approaches, one was to set up a unique pipeline into the NASA facility to help commercial industry gain access to their unique facilities, and another was to replicate some of the specialized test systems industry needed at WHA. These were hazardous test systems that required provisions for fire and explosion, which most companies don’t have, but WHA could offer.

We also began to get very involved with the ASTM G04 committee on the flammability of materials in oxygen-enriched atmospheres. My mentor from NASA, who later worked for me at WHA after he retired from NASA, was a founding member of ASTM G04. Since the early 1990s, somebody from WHA has been an officer in ASTM G04 all the way to the present. For instance, Brad is now the subcommittee chair for the Practices Subcommittee. ASTM G04 manages around 25 different test standards and industry guidelines used internationally for best practices in oxygen systems.

Brad Forsyth: That was the foundation of WHA’s failure analysis, consulting, and testing work. It’s been quite amazing to see the global reach of this little company out in the desert on the outskirts of little Las Cruces, New Mexico.

So, is failure analysis really at the core of everything you do?

Barry Newton: Everything’s grown from it. The services that WHA offers began with failure analysis, but grew into hazardous testing, safety training, hazards analysis/audits, and specialized precision cleaning. The testing has come to us from companies all over the world. Our training programs grew out of failure analysis and the experience we gained working with commercial industry. Those lessons learned become applications for others that are now captured in hazard analysis and consulting services.

Brad Forsyth: All our service areas are intertwined and synergistic. Failure analysis is kind of a culmination of all of that. Many of the testing and hazard analysis methods we use inform our Failure Analysis work and our training.

What makes WHA’s approach to failure analysis different?

Brad Forsyth: Our methodology starts by identifying the origin. That approach is consistent with NFPA 921, and it helps us evaluate ignition mechanisms properly. I’ve learned from Barry that you have to follow the evidence carefully and not fall subject to any kind of bias. If your theories about the incident are fighting the evidence, you’re probably on the wrong path.

Barry Newton: That’s the main thing. The evidence will confirm itself, everywhere you look, when you’re on the right track.

How does that translate into litigation and expert witness services?

Barry Newton: It’s about communication. A forensic engineer has to learn to communicate technical things to a jury. The effectiveness of an expert witness is about their ability to accurately apply science to an incident and communicate the technical details in an understandable way. I try to work with all our investigators to excel in these skills.

Brad Forsyth: If your opinion is well considered and well substantiated, then your job is to convey that information clearly. In the courtroom, it’s more of a teaching perspective.

Barry Newton: Ultimately, attorneys are thinking about how the jury will receive our opinions. Brad got it right… Substantiate your opinion, then communicate it.

What gives you confidence in Brad’s leadership of the failure analysis team?

Barry Newton: I’ve seen Brad contribute to many cases. He’s been my go-to investigator for over a decade. He has one of the best scientific approaches to failure analysis that I’ve seen and is an outstanding engineer. I’ve assigned Brad to support many of my clients, and he has developed an excellent rapport with them and gained their confidence.

Brad Forsyth: And beyond myself, we have a fantastic team of people with specialized and unique expertise. We’ve got Nic Linley, who’s especially good with any kind of electrical failure analysis; Dr. Dani Murphy, who has exceptional experience with hydrogen incident investigations; Brian Anderson and Dr. Harold Beeson, who both were highly distinguished at NASA before coming to WHA, and many more. We’re really well-positioned to continue to carry on the legacy of excellence in failure analysis at WHA.

One last question… What makes this work enjoyable and meaningful to you?

Barry Newton: For me, it was always about the science and understanding it at a deeper level. You have to understand the science and physics behind a failure in depth in order to find a cause. I always enjoyed the puzzle of trying to apply the science to the incident.

Brad Forsyth: I feel very similar. I love problem-solving, and every single incident is a problem. It takes careful problem-solving to get to the right answer. It’s the careful application of science, engineering, and consideration of observations to solve that problem. And every single case is unique. You learn something new every time, and that knowledge makes us all better.