Ballistic Parachute Option

In My Humble Opinion
1

In April two Cirrus aircraft were brought safely to earth by their ballistic parachute systems. The pilot of an SR-20 lost control in turbulence 11,500 feet over mountains in British Columbia and deployed his 'chute. He and his three passengers were uninjured (though they had to be lifted out of the mountinas by helicopter).

Two days later the pilot of an SR-22 entered IMC at 400 feet in Florida. The aircraft is reported to have suffered pitot-static and electrical failures, and the pilot punched the 'chute.

In October, 2002 a pilot “had no choice but to pull the 'chute” when an aileron on his SR-22 was hanging by a hinge. The pilot was uninjured. In March of that year a pilot tried to activate the BPS in IMC but it wouldn’t fire. He made a successful dead-stick landing.

I am not IFR rated, and the most complex aircraft I’ve flown are a Cassna 182 and a Piper Dakota. In other words, nothing as new as a Cirrus. I wonder if having a BPS intices a pilot to use it when there are other options still available?

The pilot in IMC in Florida had lost his instruments. Dangerous situation. Without instruments, he could very well have lost control. Popping the 'chute seems reasonable in that case. Obviously a dangling aileron is a problem. I assume the aircraft was not controllable, and the pilot had to deploy.

But what about the last guy? He tried to deploy, but couldn’t. He made a safe landing, saving the aircraft. Although it would be scary to lose an engine in IMC, the article I read didn’t say anything about instrument problems. The aircraft was (obviously) still flyable.

Do you think that having a BPS would intice pilots to use that option prematurely?

2

In some cases, yes.

The question might be better put “Do the number of lives actually saved by ballistic recovery systems (BRS) outweigh their negative aspects?” Among such negatives are failure to deploy when actually needed, misfiring when not needed, dropping people into hazardous conditions, and accidental death of bystanders if they fire off on the ground. All of which have happened. Fortunately, such occurences are rare.

It’s been a concern among ultralighters and lightplane pilots for quite some time, both unnecessary deployments and a potentially false sense of confidence.

It is conceivable that there are circumstances where you might make a successful deadstick, but your best option may still be the parachute. In the case of the gentleman with the dangling aileron, he was able to maintain directional control for some time prior to deploying the 'chute, so in theory he might well have made a successful landing. In a first-person account I read, though, he said it was requiring all his strength (including bracing one foot against a wall for extra leverage) to maintain that control and he had some serious concerns that the damage would increase with time - that is, the aileron rip entirely free of the airplane. Seems to me with a major component such as that showing extreme signs of imminent departure, pulling a 'chute if you have one is a really good idea. (If it doesn’t work, you will, of course, have to attempt a landing .) But that’s a case where you clearly have a damaged airframe - if we we’re talking a dead engine over farm fields in clear weather and an intact airplace you’re almost certainly better off trying for a deadstick landing than pulling the 'chute.

I don’t know the circumstances of the failed-to-deploy-followed-by-deadstick but it could be a situation where a deadstick was possible but riskier than 'chute deployment.

The FAA is quite concerned about the Cirrus - seems to be having an inordinate number of 'chutes pop. Is that an airplane defect - or a pilot defect? Are people risking mountain turbulence and IMC when they shouldn’t, relying on the BRS to save their bacon? Certainly possible.

Did I answer the question or go wandering off on a tangent again?

3

Airplane defect, or pilot defect? I guess that’s kind of what I was getting at in the OP. I’m inclined – without as much experience as you have – to think it’s mostly the pilots. The option is there (is it widely available on other non-ultralights?) so it get used. The failed aileron certainly warranted deployment. (I used quotes in that one because I was quoting out of the magazine. I should have made that clear, so as to avoid people thinking that I was dubious.) But the one where the 'chute didn’t deploy and the pilot made a successful landing got me to wondering if he didn’t use the final option prematurely.

Funny thing about mountain turbulence and IMC. The Beechcraft Bonanza has been called “The Doctor Killer”. (Incidentally, one of my AMEs was killed in a Bonanza.) Doctors seem to be associated with Bonanzas because they are among the few who can afford them. But it seems that Bonanza pilots, at least in the 1970s, felt themselves above such things as weather. Remember the structural failures when people would fly into T-storms? Nothing wrong with the aircraft, but the pilots seem to have had an inflated view of their abilities, and were overconfident in the abilities of the aircraft.

So it could be that Cirrus pilots think, “I have a BRS,” [Thanks for the correction, BTW.] “I can fly anywhere I want, any time I want!”

4

I know when the BRS was first available to the ultralight/lightplane crowd we did seem to have a spike in accidents/deployments. A certain number of folks thought they were a sure save - despite the very explicit warning label on the the system that deployment did NOT guarantee survival, and severe injury or death could still result.

Sure, they’re great - but in the early days there were problems like poor choice of mounting spot, leading to 'chutes departing aircraft and 'chutes wrapping around props and airframes instead of properly inflating. (Unlikely with the Cirrus, which has had more extensive testing than any ultralight) Some ultralights were not so strongly built - the opening shock has been known to remove things like carbeurators (used to be expected to lose the carb, in fact) and other major structural components. Had some bad situations involveing low-level horsing around - folks, it still takes time to deploy the thing, even with a rocket-assist. I think the lowest “save” was at 97 feet - and the two men involved spent considerable time in the hospital recovering from impact injuries. It’s survivable, not injury free.

In the microcraft community word has gotten around - no, these things will not let you get away with aerobatics 50 feet off the deck. Once you pull the Big Red Handle you are a passenger - you have no ability to steer the thing. It can drop you onto powerlines, into inaccessible canyons, into a lake or ocean, onto a cliff face too steep to allow you a firm purchase (so you die by sliding off it), into a forest fire, or - and this really happened once in Florida - into a swamp full of alligators that will kill and eat you before you can reach safety. That’s why the little instruction book that comes with the thing actually discusses a topic called “safe system deployement” - mindlessly pulling the handle can put you into an even worse situation than what you are currently coping with.

Yes, I suspect that we’ll have a few more “unnecessary” BRS deployments before folks understand both the uses and limitations of these devices. They aren’t there to allow you to do things you wouldn’t otherwise do - they’re there for the odd, catastrophic emergency. You shouldn’t fly an airplane with a BRS any differently than one without - don’t defy the weather, don’t do dumb stunts, don’t neglect preflights or mechanical maintenance, stay current with your flying skills.

There have been BRS systems available for both the C150 and C172 for about, oh, 5 or more years now. We haven’t had the same spike in deployments because the only folks adding those on were having to go through the STC hoops to get it done and were, in general, pretty savvy and experienced. Cirrus is different - the Red Handle is there without any effort, and apparently quite tempting to some folks.

Johnny, you’ve been asking a lot of questions lately - thinking of getting into a lightplane or something?

5

I wish! It’s going to be at least December before I can think seriously about getting airborne. And then, it will have to be in a 172 and not a Robbo. Right now, hangar flying is about all I can do. :frowning:

I’m not interested in a Cirrus or BRS, BTW. I just read the article in Pilot and wondered whether Cirrus pilots are very tempted by the Red Handle. Deploying the 'chute rips the skin, doesn’t it? I assume the airframe is junked after that. Is that true?

6

The BRS instructions - and the Cirrus POH - are pretty explicit in telling you that as soon as you pull the Red Handle you can expect to junk the airplane.

It doesn’t always happen - the gentleman with the departing aileron not only was completely unhurt himself, but his airplane suffered only minor damage in the landing. But he was really, really lucky. And there have been other instances where a BRS-equipped plane landed under canopy with repairable damage. But that’s the exception.

If you’re pulling the handle because you’re experiencing an in-flight breakup - well, your airplane is probably toast anyhow. Fold a wing during aerobatics or slam into someone else in a mid-air you’re looking at some severe damage. If you’re pulling the handle over hostile terrain - well, the landing gear (the Cirrus is supposed to pancake onto the gear in this situation) and airframe will most likely take a beating, or even break. If the situation is such that you aren’t landing upright… all bets are off. Um… why else would you get the parachute out? I think the point is, you aren’t supposed to use this thing until the situation is already pretty damn dire.

The goal here is not a feather-light landing - it’s a landing you can survive. Although most of the BRS saves I’ve heard about in the lightplane/ultralight crowd have resulted in the occupants either walking or limping away there have also been broken bones in some of them. There was at least one instance in the pre-Cirrus days where the 'chute was found, apparently properly deployed, the airplane was upright, and the two men inside were both dead (I think it was a two-seat Challenger). Very puzzling.

The rule of thumb is that if you have a reasonable chance of getting the airframe intact to the ground and parked you don’t need to pull the handle - if you can’t do that you’ve already lost the airplane anyway, stop worrying about it, and save your own skin if you can. If I correctly recall my one and only glimpse of the Cirrus POH, it explicitly states that engine failure in and of itself is not sufficient reason to deploy the BRS unless you are unable to make a power-off landing. The companies that make these systems also state likewise.

They also state that you need to shut the engine off prior to deployment, and that above certain speeds - speeds a Cirrus is quite capable of - the 'chute may not work (I think there is some problem with it inflating above certain speeds). It might save you from a flat spin - it may not save you from an unrecoverable, accelerating dive.

Anyhow, in the Cirrus the Big Red Handle (it really is red) is mounted in the ceiling of the cockpit between the two seats. It’s attached to a cable that runs back along the ceiling to the BRS canister. There’s some slack, to avoid a deployment if someone just bumps it, so you need a good, hefty yank to set the system off (several folks who have had to use one in flight report it takes more of a yank than you’d expect, so haul on it for all you’re worth). This pulls the firing mechanism on the solid rocket that punches through the wall of the airplane, dragging the parachute behind it and getting it outside and open in a hurry. You still need a hundred feet to get it fully open, though. The area it exits the Cirrus has a breakaway panel installed over it, to make the rocket exit easier and speed deployment. (Installing a BRS on a small Cessna also requires the installation of a similar break-away) The rocket, however, is quite capable of punching through the side of an ordinary, non-breakaway panel airplane fuselage. If you’re moving on the high end of the speed envelope when you do this you WILL feel a mighty jolt as the opening shock slows you down significantly. If you’re already experiencing an inflight breakup, or if you just suffered structural damage in a mid-air, parts might fall off your airplane. Certainly, anything loose inside the cabin will be flying around freely.

After all that - sit back (ha!) and enjoy the ride to earth - if you can. If you’re over water when you pop the 'chute start planning your exit now. Use the time to call in a mayday.

Another cool safety device to make its debut in recent years is seatbelt airbags for airplanes. Apparently can be retrofitted to most singles. Also making an appearance in some airliners. Yes, they put the airbags in the seatbelt. I think a BRS + airbag combo might be a good thing in a crash. And Johnny - they’ve got seatbelt airbags to fit helicoptors, too!