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There is a joke among Cirrus owners that the way to deploy the parachute is to pull it with your right hand, and then call your insurance agent with your left h
by sowbug 9y ago
There is a joke among Cirrus owners that the way to deploy the parachute is to pull it with your right hand, and then call your insurance agent with your left hand. The implication is that the aircraft is likely a total loss from that point.
Of the ~100 Cirrus parachute deployments to date, about 15 planes were repaired and put back into service. There were about 150 survivors and 1 fatality in those deployments. Cirrus says deployments have never failed when the system was being used within limits. I wasn't able to find the circumstances of that death, but the numbers show that yes, the parachutes are reliable.
As you point out, they can't protect you from whatever you land on -- lake, volcano, piranhas, etc.
- jamra 9y agoI was shown a video by my father who owns a Cirrus of a parachuting plane on fire. It may have been the fatality. I believe the parachute works beautifully, but you have to make sure you use it correctly.
- jly 9y agoYeah but who really cares if the plane is a loss? If you pull that lever, you are doing it because you would otherwise probably die. I'd say that's worth a total loss.
- sowbug 9y agoI doubt anyone does care. You might have misinterpreted the joke as advice not to use the mechanism when it's needed. It's just making light of the next step after surviving having crashed your plane.
- dver 9y agoDon't have the report handy on tbe phone, but it was in a dive in imc over the sierras exceeded Vne shredded the chute.
- sowbug 9y agoIt's likely Cirrus doesn't count that incident as a failure because it was past Vne.