Ballistic parachute really works

[AussieMan]

A Sirrus 22 light aircraft suffered an apparent engine failure at 4000' over the township of Lawson in the Blue Mountains of NSW yesterday but came down safely thanks to the ballistic parachute fitted to the aircraft. Of the 3 people on board only one complained of a back injury.

http://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/2273474/three-people-escape-as-parachute-averts-lawson-plane-disaster/?cs=1180

Some news reports say there were 4 people on board.

[Daveroo]

well tthats cool...glad to see some positive things happening

[Whitehawk]

Ouch that demonstrator was over here a few weeks back, glad they are all ok!

Gotta say the CAPS doesn't interest me, it's designed to make a vertical descent to a survivable impact, unless over inhospitable terrain or water where a forced landing is impossible, I would be picking a field.

[AussieMan]

They had little choice as there was no open space until they reached an area near the Nepean River where there was a major freeway. The whole Blue Mountains area is either dense forest or dense housing. Google Earth will prove that.

[emfrat]

Well, this is already being spruiked around the 'Net as a "Miraculous rescue" but the fact is, that aircraft comes supplied with this emergency device, because it is a basic trainer and people at that level are more than likely to need it. In the few years it has been available, it has saved almost 100 lives.
It is not a miracle - just good design by the Cirrus people - and please get the spelling right:banghead:

MikeW

[Dynasaur]

They had little choice as there was no open space until they reached an area near the Nepean River where there was a major freeway. The whole Blue Mountains area is either dense forest or dense housing. Google Earth will prove that.

I think they would have been pushing their luck to make it to the freeway - if they were at 4000' asl (they may have been higher, that's just when he used the 'chute), Katoomba is about 1500' asl and Lawson is probably only a little lower so they may not have had 4000' of air under them. Also, having flown over the area myself a few times about 25 years ago, not only is it dense forest but it's all ridges and valleys.
I noticed on Google earth that it looks like there is a golf course at Lawson but, I would have still used the parachute rather than chance a landing.

[rhumbaflappy]

That's as close to a "do over" that you'll get in aviation. Pity about the fence.

Dick

[n4gix]

The odds are highly in favor of that aircraft being repaired and back flying in a few months... :ernaehrung004:

[PRB]

When I read the title of this thread I thought "why the heck do they call it a 'ballistic' parachute?" That name seems either 1) redundant or 2) an oxy-moron. I couldn't decide which. So I Googled the company, and best I can tell, the name derives from the fact that the parachute is meant to save you, your passengers, and your airplane (more or less) after the plane becomes ballistic (more or less) as a result of an engine failure. Setting aside the fact that the ship will still fly, and is, therefore, not ballistic, when the engine quits, unless the wings come off, I get the name, I think. Either way, glad to see this system saving lives. What a brilliant idea!

[AussieMan]

I think they would have been pushing their luck to make it to the freeway - if they were at 4000' asl (they may have been higher, that's just when he used the 'chute), Katoomba is about 1500' asl and Lawson is probably only a little lower so they may not have had 4000' of air under them. Also, having flown over the area myself a few times about 25 years ago, not only is it dense forest but it's all ridges and valleys.
I noticed on Google earth that it looks like there is a golf course at Lawson but, I would have still used the parachute rather than chance a landing.

Actually Katoomba is just over 3300' ASL. A plaque on the railway station from memory said 3347'. Aircraft usually pass over Katoomba at a minimum of about 5000' so I can assume that they were at 5000' when the engine failed. Lawson I think is about 2500' - 3000'.

[Dynasaur]

Actually Katoomba is just over 3300' ASL. A plaque on the railway station from memory said 3347'. Aircraft usually pass over Katoomba at a minimum of about 5000' so I can assume that they were at 5000' when the engine failed. Lawson I think is about 2500' - 3000'.



Ooops- Yeah, your right - looks like my memory is failing - it's been a while since I actually flew anything. I seem to remember (back 24 years) that the controlled airspace started at 4000' and I used to fly under that so I didn't have much height above Katoomba - must check some of my old charts. I used to take friends sightseeing over there by day and I have done the Bankstown - Bathurst and return at night a couple of times when I was taking the old Class 4 - night VMC rating (once in a Piper Tomahawk! - aargh - single engine aeroplanes over 'tiger country' at night!)

[n4gix]

This article showed up on AvWeb today with more details on the event:


Peter Edwards, a sales representative with Cirrus
Aircraft in Australia, had two potential buyers with him during a
demonstration flight near Sydney.
http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Cirrus-Salesman-Pulls-Chute-During-Demo-Flight221997-1.html

[srgalahad]

When I read the title of this thread I thought "why the heck do they call it a 'ballistic' parachute?" That name seems either 1) redundant or 2) an oxy-moron. I couldn't decide which. So I Googled the company, and best I can tell, the name derives from the fact that the parachute is meant to save you, your passengers, and your airplane (more or less) after the plane becomes ballistic (more or less) as a result of an engine failure. Setting aside the fact that the ship will still fly, and is, therefore, not ballistic, when the engine quits, unless the wings come off, I get the name, I think. Either way, glad to see this system saving lives. What a brilliant idea!

Actually, (OK, I'll quote Wiki because it's easier...)

"A ballistic parachute, ballistic reserve parachute, or emergency ballistic reserve parachute is a parachute ejected from the casing via a small explosion,[1] much like that used in an ejection seat. The advantage of the ballistic parachute over a conventional parachute is that it ejects the parachute canopy causing it to open rapidly, this makes it ideal for attaching to small aircraft, hang-gliders and microlights where an emergency situation may occur in close proximity to the ground. In such a situation a conventional parachute would not open quickly enough."

From the World Dictionary:
"2. denoting or relating to the flight of projectiles after power has been cut off, moving under their own momentum and the external forces of gravity and air resistance "

So the term refers to the projectile launch system, not the behaviour of the aircraft.

Here's the addy for Ballistic Recovery Systems who make the Cirrus system and, among others, a Cessna 172/182 STC system.

http://brsparachutes.com/brs_aviation_home.aspx