On the subject of plane crashes

"Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures)
10/03/2018 at 11:15 • Filed to: None

A Cirrus in Texas suffered an engine failure causing the pilot to deploy the plane’s captive parachute, which floats the entire plane down to the ground. Despite coming down in what appears to be a fairly populated area there were no injuries and the plane even looks to be in decent shape. (No idea what kind of internal stresses the chutes cause though). This makes over 15 0 people who have walked away from over 90 parachute landings since Cirrus started installing them in 2002.

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DISCUSSION (15)

For Sweden > Dusty Ventures
10/03/2018 at 11:31

Best $5000 (I think) anyone could ever spend

Ash78, voting early and often > Dusty Ventures
10/03/2018 at 11:32

Pretty cool. I understand they have retrofit kits for other planes, too, but there’s a required replacement cycle that can make them very, very expensive (especially after deployment, since the airframe will have to be tested and repaired) . Like anything else, it’s a cost/benefit. Could the pilot have landed safely? In some cases, yes. And in some cases, the chutes are deployed accidentally, causing a problem that didn’t exist. Sort of like the early days of airbags, I guess...

Just Jeepin' > Dusty Ventures
10/03/2018 at 11:32

5 emergencies/year requiring parachutes seems like a lot to me, but I don’t follow the aircraft industry.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > For Sweden
10/03/2018 at 11:41

It’s like a videogame “press X to not die” in real life.

Your boy, BJR > Dusty Ventures
10/03/2018 at 11:50

Why doesn’t every plan in the world have these?! I’m an extremely anxious flier and this would honestly solve like 70% of my anxiety.

For Sweden > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
10/03/2018 at 11:53

But not everyone presses x!

I was talking to a helicopter pilot recently, and he knew of several people who had crashed due to fuel starvation within sight of the airport.

It’s a helicopter. You can land anywhere!

Dusty Ventures > Just Jeepin'
10/03/2018 at 11:55

Typically there's 1-3 fatal light aircraft accidents world-wide every day. So not that unreasonable. Also it seems likely that pilots who know they have that safety system installed are more likely to pull it vs try to solve the problem/land the plane on their own.

Grindintosecond > Dusty Ventures
10/03/2018 at 12:07

There is thought about unnecessary chute pulls. For example, one Cirrus pilot noticed a blocked static system (gives air pressure info to instruments so they tell you correct information) and pulled the chute.....but forgot to first try and flip the switch to “alternate static source” and avoid the chute pull. So there’s the over reliance factor potentially at hand. But given even that, the parachute sytem itself has had a dramatic effect on reducing accidents/crashes and been a great invention for general aviation aircraft (The chute system is not a Cirrus invention, but it IS available to anyone building a kit/scratch-built plane.)

Other issues for the Cirrus? Even given a chute, even given it’s modern design and construction, per hour of flight it has a higher fatality rate than similar planes.

TorqueToYield > Your boy, BJR
10/03/2018 at 12:09

I’m guessing cause commercial air travel is incredibly safe and even safer if you stick to only major US carriers. Something like one fatal accident for every 16 million flights for 2017. So cost/benefit isn’t worth it.

Small aircraft and private flights are significantly riskier.

https://www.livescience.com/49701-private-planes-safety.html

McMike > Dusty Ventures
10/03/2018 at 12:21

I’m with @derekwthomas on this one....

The pilot was able to deploy the aircraft’s emergency parachute and the plane came to a rest in a field about 1.5 miles way from the airport.

Wat?

McMike > For Sweden
10/03/2018 at 12:24

It’s a helicopter. You can land anywhere!

“Shut up honey. I’m not paying a fine and to be refuled in a damn field. I can see the airport from here. ”

Mercedes Streeter > Just Jeepin'
10/03/2018 at 12:43

Light aircraft fail/ crash a lot, especially prop ones . They aren’t built to/maintained with the same crazy standards you’ll see with commercial airliners.

Dusty Ventures > Your boy, BJR
10/03/2018 at 13:31

In addition to what Torque said, there's a big difference between a parachute that can handle a 2,500 lbs personal aircraft and a 200,000 lbs passenger jet

WilliamsSW > For Sweden
10/03/2018 at 13:57

OK, it always amazes me that fuel starvation is one of the leading causes of light GA accidents. But running out of fuel in a helicopter is somehow even dumber.

Your boy, BJR > Dusty Ventures
10/03/2018 at 20:12

I feel like that question can easily be answered with “MORE PARACHUTES”