Ballistic Parachutes Saves More Lives; Cirrus Extends Contract

Coincidental with Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS) announcing that another three lives were saved in recent days because of its on-board parachute system, Cirrus Design Corporation extended it contract to continue installing the system on its new aircraft.

On February 6, the pilot of a Cirrus SR22 made a successful parachute deployment landing near Wagner, South Dakota.  This followed another incident on February 2, when the pilot of a Challenger II ultralight descended safely in after launching his BRS parachute during a local flight in Wisconsin.

The pilot and owner of the Cirrus said he was flying on an IFR (instrument flight rules) flight plan (in reported clouds with potential icing conditions) when he became disorientated while dealing with a possible autopilot malfunction during the departure climb.  After trying to over power the autopilot, and losing control, he opted to deploy the airframe parachute.  Neither the pilot nor his one passenger was injured.

A similar incident occurred in January in Alabama, when the pilot lost control of his SR22; airframe icing was suspected in that incident as well.  Three people were "saved" in that episode when the airplane settled into tree tops after its descent was arrested by deploying the system.

BRS says that in its 25-year history, it has sold over 20,000 onboard emergency parachute systems to aircraft owners around the world, including over 2,300 systems on certified aircraft like the Cirrus Design SR series.  To date the system has saved 187 lives, BRS claims, 14 of them in certified aircraft.

Cirrus Contract Extension

Cirrus Design Corporation, which manufactures the four-place Cirrus SR22, will continue to be the exclusive supplier of the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS), following an extension of its contract with BRS.

The agreement also includes expanded joint development for a new generation of parachutes that will increase the system's weight-and-speed operating envelope.  02-11-2006.

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