BRS: Parachute Recovery Systems

FLYING Staff

Thursday, December 23, 2004 at 10:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Whole-airplane parachute systems, such as Cirrus's CAPS, have a proven track record of saving lives in critical in-flight emergencies, including instrument failure and loss of control, turning potentially fatal accidents into safe landings.
The introduction of these systems has sparked debate among pilots regarding pilot control, risk assessment, and decision-making, though owners of parachute-equipped aircraft generally support the technology.
Analysis suggests that if widely adopted and effectively utilized, these parachute systems could prevent a significant percentage (estimated 42%) of fatal single-engine general aviation accidents.
Despite their life-saving potential and growing presence in light sport aircraft, broader adoption by major manufacturers is currently limited by economic factors, certification challenges, and weight considerations.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Last April, an instrument-rated private pilot took off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport in his SR22 bound for Palm Beach International. It was solid IFR, 400 overcast. The pilot was experienced in Cirrus airplanes-he was a founder of the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association-he regularly flew such IFR flights, and he knew his airplane well. As he rotated and began to climb, all systems looked good.

Then, just after he had entered the soup at right around the advertised 400 feet things started to go wrong. The altimeter began to fluctuate wildly, and the pilot called ATC to report the problem and to request a return to the airport. He got a vector, but things soon got worse, and he came to believe that the attitude indicator and turn coordinator were indicating differently. As he desperately tried to sort things out, he realized that he had no idea how high or where exactly he was.