For those single engine airplanes with parachutes...

I'd say when you have no great option for gliding to a probable landing.

Had one deploy here last year over the rugged mountains.. it's pretty much a barrier range dividing Sydney from the rest of the country and unavoidable without a significant diversion.

if something goes wrong over here there's very very little to choose from.. its all trees and high cliffs.. a few cleared valleys if you're near them but mostly not much else of a landing option.. they popped the chute to end up in someones front yard.. better than ploughing into things at much higher speed..

 

You can get a view of the rugged areas getting in and out of Sydney.. a chute would be a godsend when things go wrong over here.

It proved quite the barrier for some time for white man to find a way through..

https://goo.gl/maps/LEfdngoHNns

 

The "after" pictures of a Cirrus parachute emergency landing are interesting to look at.
It is impressive how safely the plane lands in rough terrain areas.

My understanding is that the airframe is a total loss when the CAPS system is deployed.

Here is an example picture found on the internet.
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Here is a facebook video of an actual Cirrus CAPS emergency landing.
Video was captured by a security camera.

The plane descends quickly and the landing is probably a bit rougher than you might expect.
But, both passengers were able to walk away from it.

https://www.facebook.com/NBCNewYork/videos/10153963371469099/

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Any good pilot knows the answer to this questions is "it depends".

It depends what's going on. Lot's of factors to consider. Training is done so one can "consider the factors" while under pressure.

 

^^^^

First rule if you run into this type of situation is to do whatever it takes to get yourself safely on the ground. Consider the airplane totaled from the get go, i.e. don't try to save it above yourself and your passengers.

 

The Diamond community is fond of repeating the assertion that the descent rate of a DA40 in full stick-back nose-up stall is the same as a Cirrus with the chute deployed. Not sure that is relevant in a thunderstorm but interesting if true.

what impressed me about that video was how well the gear sprang back after that hard hit! Obviously I've been overly squeamish about dropping 3 feet to the runway when I flare too high!

 

Actually, the rate of descent in a Diamond mushing to the ground is SLOWER than a Cirrus with the chute pulled...and I don't how effective a chute would be if pulled in a thunderstorm either.



Mark

 

Has anyone survived a crash in a Diamond ,"mushing " to the ground ?

Edward

 

Don't know why you'd ever want to try, but here's an interesting AvWeb article that touches on it.

Parachute in a Plane - AVweb Insider Article



Mark

 

Looks like 300ft doesn't work....

SONOMA, Calif. (KGO) -- When investigators from the FAA and NTSB arrived at the crash site Friday morning they found a crumpled Cirrus SR22T plane and descriptions from witnesses of an engine failure shortly after take off from the Sonoma Skypark.

"When the engine stopped, it became a glider and looked really good," said airport manager Ron Price. "I was hoping they could land in that field."

Instead, for reasons unknown, pilot Bill Goldman pulled the handle on the parachute designed to save planes in distress. It worked on June 30 near Davis, when a pilot and passenger walked away after an engine failure.

But it did not work in Sonoma for a plane at maybe 300 feet, according to witnesses.

"The parachute needs about a thousand feet to deploy, and that is only if you're lucky," said San Rafael aviation attorney Lou Franecke. He made a case against Cirrus after a similar crash.

He cannot discuss the settlement terms but insists the plane has a flaw. "The parachute is used to deploy when you have a problem," Franecke told ABC7 News. "And the problem with the Cirrus is its aerodynamic characteristics are awful in stall."

The Cirrus Aircraft Company makes a selling point of the plane's built-in parachute.

Today it told us: The Cirrus Aircraft whole-plane parachute system has been deployed 72 times over the last 18 years, resulting in 148 saved lives who were returned to their families.

But as Coast Guard video shows, deployment does not happen instantly. It takes a few seconds for the straps to deploy, the chute to fill, and for the plane to level.

Friday, witnesses say the plane landed almost nose first. Would the chute have made a difference at low altitude? The company says it can work at 400 feet.

"If you are straight and level," said Franecke. "But if you are straight and level, why would you deploy the parachute?

The answers may lie somewhere in the wreckage.

 

So the chute put him on the nose but I think three survived? Check out the pictures in Kathryn's report. Is it possible the chute saved their lives? I don't know the answer to this, but although it killed one, maybe the others lived due to the plane being slowed prior to impact? Sounds like they could have glided in as this one just did?

Kathryn's Report: Cirrus SR22, N754AP, Alpha Papa LLC: Incident occurred July 15, 2017 in West Point, Davis County, Utah

Kathryn's Report: Cirrus SR22T, N821SG, DDLV LLC: Fatal accident occurred July 13, 2017 near Sonoma Skypark (0Q9), Sonoma County, California

 

So the chute put him on the nose but I think three survived? Check out the pictures in Kathryn's report. Is it possible the chute saved their lives? I don't know the answer to this, but although it killed one, maybe the others lived due to the plane being slowed prior to impact? Sounds like they could have glided in as this one just did?

Kathryn's Report: Cirrus SR22, N754AP, Alpha Papa LLC: Incident occurred July 15, 2017 in West Point, Davis County, Utah

Kathryn's Report: Cirrus SR22T, N821SG, DDLV LLC: Fatal accident occurred July 13, 2017 near Sonoma Skypark (0Q9), Sonoma County, California
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For me it'd take a lot. Probably about the same situations that would make me jump if there was a chute on my back. (airframe failure, engine failure at night over mountains...).

It'd be a "pick your poison thing"

I know they turn a lot of people on

 

Uncontrolled disorientation in IMC might be a good time...

 

That sounds terrible!

 

It's what happened to John Kennedy Jr. at Martha's Vinyard 20 years ago. Probably kills more pilots than just about any other thing. Pilots flying into or getting caught in weather that's a problem for them. It can happen. auto-pilot failure .... lack of training...etc....stuff adds up

my thinking is that's where these parachutes would save the most lives...but I really don't know that much about them.