Cirrus Aircraft Parachute Deployment Caught On Security Camera

"safety and pilot skills" development is/was a requirement as there was no viable alternative. With Cirrus, some pilot may consider an elective subject. Another reliance on technology getting one beyond one's skill-set?

Pilot was running the same way I do when my back is hurting, and was rubbing his lower back just before they turned to face the aircraft again. I would say there's a good chance he sustained a back injury.

Not sure what system was installed in this aircraft but the origional system used a 55ft chute 5th generation CAPS did get a larger 65ft chute. The problem with a chute big enough for lower velocity touch down is that lower velocity winds will pull the aircraft and occupants around. So the Chute is designed to slow the plane to just under 1700fpm and the seats are designed to withstand a 26G impact.

Your 'written off' comment led to a google search which found the following site.
14 of 77 recorded incidents have or are returning to service, 9 deployed too low to work (Think Wiley Coyote's parachute).

I also read somewhere the chute restocking fee is around 10K, another revenue stream.


https://www.cirruspilots.org/copa/safety_programs/w/safety_pages/723.cirrus-caps-history.aspx#CAPS_Planes_that_Were_Repaired_and_Flew_Again

Or is it 330K gone bye bye

It is in Cirrus training and POH to pull it at the pretty much at the first sign of trouble. The split cord wing design creates some slightly squirrelly stall characteristics and the envelope for proper chute deployment is relatively small. Early on Cirrus chutes got a bad rap because pilots would wait until the knew they couldn't control then pull the chute. This led to several chutes departing the airframe due to being deployed outside the safety envelope.

So I try not to judge too harshly when a pilot feels the need to pull the chute. Wait to long and you can easily become a screaming passenger in an aircraft with no empennage. Better safe than sorry.

Found a pretty good article on the subject if you are interested. http://www.avweb.com/blogs/insider/What-The-Frederick-Crash-Reveals-About-Cirrus-Accident-Trends-222980-1.html

I am no expert on the Cirrus but a bigger parachute would submit the airframe to higher forces, and that could reduce even further the safe "envelope" for chute deployment.

Airspeed over the control surfaces and angle of attack are insufficient to provide any maneuverability once the chute is deployed. After deployment you should be readying the aircraft for impact. Mixture is set to cutoff, fuel selector is turned to off, fuel pump is turned off, as well as the master switch and mags, ELT should be activated, Tighten seatbelts and secure loose items. There is not much time to worry about what you might land on.

Collectively, I think we represent some of the highest IQ's on the planet, and if you don't believe it, just ax us. (usual sarcasm disclaimer)

Considering the focus of this site is flight, an endeavor that requires both skill and intelligence to master, and that people who have those basic skills rarely restrict themselves to just one area of interest, and are often the holders of higher level degrees of education in a variety of fields, why are you surprised when we exhibit our range of skills and knowledge?

Kudos for noticing.

Are they? Is their failure rate greater than other aircraft? There is a saying keep flying the aircraft as far as possible. It may be that the cirrus pilot could be more likely to exercise the red lever option. 127 people have survived those incidents, how many would have made it with out it?

This one made the news as it was caught on camera.

Care to offer some evidence to support that claim? And don't assume the chute is pulled because the aircraft has failed in some regard. Plenty of pulls have been from pilots who got themselves into situations where they felt it necessary to pull the handle with a perfectly working airplane.

An experienced pilot told me that Cyrrus is so easy to guide and navigate, that inexperienced pilots feel very comfortable in flying under non-ideal conditions of flight.