Wade Bartlett: From Engineering to Law Enforcement, Critical Speed Yaw Analysis, and the Power of Constant Learning

Data Driven with Lou Peck · Feb 11, 2026 · 2h 55m · transcript

Wade has a uniquely broad career. From consulting engineer, to Deputy Sheriff, to Adjunct Faculty at IPTM, to NAPARS Administrator, he’s an integral member of the reconstruction community.

Wade has a bachelor’s and master’s in mechanical engineering, a professional engineering license, and is also ACTAR accredited. He’s authored or co-authored nearly 50 technical publications, and has presented at conferences all over the world.

We sat down for nearly 3 hours and covered a wide variety of topics, including:

- How Wade accidentally became an engineer

- Going from failure analysis to accident…