The answer to air safety

I think one of the arguments against this system, was that pilots might be tempted to use it
as the first resort, rather than the last.

Perhaps. Cirrus Aircraft puts weight on that in the POH, if I remember correctly. If possible, a safe forced landing is usually the way to go. The CAPS is primarily meant for emergencies involving a loss of control which is impossible to recover from, i.e. spin, midair collision etc. Of course it can also come in handy if the conditions for making a forced landing are unacceptable for some reason. I realise that this might not be clear to everyone flying the SR20. It’s important to focus on it during training and checkouts.

I think one of the arguments against this system, was that pilots might be tempted to use it
as the first resort, rather than the last.

I’m sure that when I first saw this on a TV programme, quite a few years back, it hadn’t been
authorised for use in the UK.

Sure. I was speaking on behalf of the Cirrus SR20.

I still feel it’s a good thing to have for some added safety, even for rare situations.

http://www.cirruspilots.org/Content/CAPSHistory.aspx

sure but the problem with adding things for safety is that it just gives so much more that can go wrong.

Ok, adding parachutes to a civillian airliner – lets see, we need to punch more holes in it for the parachute attachments, make room for the chutes – check the flammability! Wire up the system… now, auto deploy or manual? Auto requires software (better have that checked), manual requires more wiring for the button (better add a guard to that) – oh! i’m forgetting the explosive bolts that’ll remove bits of the airlplane to fire the parachute and whilst we are at that how often should the system be checked……

It’s not just add something to increase safety there are a million other things to be aware of.

How big would a parachute need to be to arrest the decent of hundreds of tons of Jetliner moving at 600MPH?

If they could make one it would be enormous and far far too heavy.

Look at the size a parchute that just for one…sometimes two people is.

It’s also of limited use, you need to be at a suitable altitude to use it. Most accidents happen at low altitude i.e. during take off and landing. No amounts of parachutes will help there.
How many accidents happen above a few thousand feet?
The rare “At altitude accidents” that do happen usualy involve some sort of structural failure too so it would be questionable IF it delpoyed at all wether it would save lives.

I still feel it’s a good thing to have for some added safety, even for rare situations.

http://www.cirruspilots.org/Content/CAPSHistory.aspx

Not allowed in the UK though are they ?

Yes. They are, that is..:)

It’s also of limited use, you need to be at a suitable altitude to use it. Most accidents happen at low altitude i.e. during take off and landing. No amounts of parachutes will help there.
How many accidents happen above a few thousand feet?
The rare “At altitude accidents” that do happen usualy involve some sort of structural failure too so it would be questionable IF it delpoyed at all wether it would save lives.

Rgds Cking

it’s been considered on and off for years, maybe not officially but it has been mooted many times

Weight always seemed to be the cry off.

Only been done in small aircraft

Not allowed in the UK though are they ?

Yep. The Cirrus SR20, for example.