There's at least one Soviet entry that happened ballistically, IIRC, with no deaths (they had other deaths on entry, but for other reasons like loss of air or t

There's at least one Soviet entry that happened ballistically, IIRC, with no deaths (they had other deaths on entry, but for other reasons like loss of air or tangling of parachute lines.) The peak acceleration on ballistic entry is independent of the ballistic coefficient of the entry vehicle (but is a function of the L/D ratio during lifting entry; even small L/D can greatly reduce the peak acceleration.)