Geek Habitat

The Cirrus SR22 aircraft Justin and I are fans of (ever since a demo flight) comes equipped with a parachute, and yes, it works. On the rare instances where I hear about a pilot getting into a spot where s/he needs to deploy said parachute, however, I wonder — would s/he have been flying at that time, if the knowledge of that “safety net” wasn’t there? Do they take risks that a pilot of, say, a Cessna Skyhawk 172 wouldn’t take because they feel “safer”? I’m not knocking the Cirrus and other safety-equipped aircraft (airbags installed for the pilot and passenger are optional equipment on some small aircraft models, including Cessna’s.) They’re terrific advancements in aviation safety, but pilots and crews still need to exercise good decision-making and superb airmanship skills.

Most aircraft accidents/crashes are the result of pilot and/or Air Traffic Controller error. People, not machines, are where the deficiencies begin. Even maintanenace issues that result in an unsafe, not airworthy aircraft, are the result of people in fact. Rarely, though it does occur, is it a design flaw or catastrophic but as of yet unknown issue with a particular type of airframe/aircraft.

Five people survived this crash, but the NTSB investigation will tell the tale — was this a crash that should have even happened? In my mind, the parachute is there for very rare emergencies, like a catastrophic bird strike or other mechanical issue that precludes the pilot ability to use altitude as his/her friend and glide to a safe landing strip.

Yes, the plane landed in a small pond, but you’ll see the pond is in a residential area. That parachute just happened to bring the aircraft down slowly and safely into the pond, rather than on top of high tension power lines or one of the many homes within a couple hundred yards’ of the shore.

“Safety first,” doesn’t mean counting on one’s parachute… even if the aircraft is absolutely capable of arresting forward momentum and bringing you safely and slowly down to terra firma again (wherever the wind blows you, that is.)