Searching For The Truth
By Auburn Cecil

                When Jack Lipscomb arrives at work, he finds twisted metal, burned or demolished evidence and fragments of a story to be reconstructed. To find the truth, the aviation crash investigator must gather all the evidence, study the wreckage and decipher the circumstances that caused the crash. If you think that sounds glamorous, keep in mind that someone is always looking over his shoulder with one thing in mind – keeping him from finding something that will cost them money.
                Statistically, more people are killed each year in car accidents than plane crashes. However, many people don’t feel comforted by that fact and some are so terrified of flying that they resort to medications or choose not to fly at all. As a crash investigator, Jack has seen the worst of what can happen in an aviation accident, but he still flies regularly and even owns his own plane.
                Hearing the stories about all the cases he’s solved, it’s hard to imagine he could sift through the wreckage and then get back up in the air.
                “I don’t worry about it,” said Jack, a resident of Smith Mountain Lake since 1987. “I figure when the Lord calls, I will go.”
                Since 1980, Jack has been a consultant and expert for insurance companies, individuals and lawyers who want the truth about what happened in aviation accidents around the world. Originally, Jack, a pilot since 1957, got into the business while in the Navy. With his experience he went to work at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for 11 years and learned from the best inspectors in the business. While he can tell story after story of the incredible people he has worked with and the cases they solved together, Jack hates to admit he is one of a dying breed.
                “There aren’t many highly experienced investigators left,” he said. “One person cannot experience everything learned from decades of accident investigations. We used to share information about each other’s cases and work together. Now that millions of dollars are on the line and things have become so political, investigators don’t share information and teach each other like they used to. New investigators often only do several investigations with a supervisor before they go out on their own. There is so much new technology that can help, but you still need the basic knowledge that only comes from experience and learning from those who have seen more.”
                When the NTSB started to become more political, Jack decided to move his expertise to the private sector. He started his own company and has become one of the top names for finding the truth – even if that finding goes against the NTSB.
                He explained, “The NTSB investigates so many cases that they don’t have the manpower and finances needed to do an in-depth investigation of each case. Big crashes and prominent cases get more attention, but others often end up being called pilot error due to the lack of depth of the investigation.”
                In fact, 80 percent of crashes investigated by the NTSB are considered pilot error.  Jack has found that about 75 percent of the accidents re-investigated have turned up failed components within the aircraft that factor into the cause of the accident.
                “It’s very easy to say that a crash is the result of pilot error, but in most cases they just missed something crucial,” he said.
One of Jack’s cases, a helicopter crash on a glacier in Alaska that killed seven people, was called a pilot error accident. Upon further investigation, Jack determined that the actual cause of the accident was a small plug in the hydraulic controls system that became loose and wedged against a control servo part. The evidence that lead him to the plug was the helicopter crash scene and a tiny nick that others had overlooked as being part of the destruction caused by the crash impact.
                The difficulty in determining the right cause is often due to the condition of the wreckage and the time and money it takes to investigate every possibility. You have to understand physics, aerodynamics, engineering, weather patterns and so much more. Often you have to deal with witnesses and be able to extract the important parts of each witness’ story. Sometimes it comes down to just being able to tell if a part was bent, crushed or burned during a crash or before impact.
                “This is a wonderful job,” Jack said. “You have to use every bit of knowledge that you have ever acquired in your life. When you see something different, it has to have a meaning to you. Everything has a reason and if something seems wrong, it probably is.”
                While Jack often finds the small detail that breaks the case, sometimes there is nothing wrong with the plane and he has to tell the family that it was a pilot error.
                “Even then the family seems relieved,” Jack said. “They just want to know for sure the cause of the accident.”
Jack’s policy has always been to put the truth out on the table and then you can deal with it. Some people try to call him an “ambulance chaser.” That couldn’t be further from the truth.
                “We have spent over a million dollars investigating one case,” explained Jack. “This is about getting to the source of the problem. If there is something wrong with a plane, the only way to make big companies change is to cost them money. You never know whether a case will go to court on not, but many of these cases need to be decided by a jury. In every case I go in as a consultant knowing that I might be put on the stand as an expert and have to explain the technical findings to ordinary people.”
                And it’s not just ordinary people Jack has to deal with. He explained, “Every thing you do will be thoroughly examined by the foremost experts in the country and has to stand up to the best the industry has to offer. Your reputation and knowledge are under constant scrutiny. I’ve been involved with cases where the opposition did everything they could to prove it was pilot error and it was proven otherwise. This job isn’t for everyone.”
                In the end, Jack just wants to make flight safer. In some cases the manufacturers will know there are problems with a plane and decide not to fix it because of the bottom line figure.  The financial risk of lawsuits is much less than the cost to correct the problem. Jack wants to change that and is currently working on a case where multiple accidents have been caused by the same problem. He is also working on a book about his cases and intends to contact the NTSB about training investigators. He said, “This is about aviation safety and prevention. I’m in this business to find the problems and get them fixed.”