Thu, Oct 16, 2008
Sometimes... Hitting The Silk IS The Only Option
Whole-aircraft emergency parachute manufacturer Ballistic
Recovery Systems announced this week it was notified of an aircraft
accident this past Sunday, October 12, in northern Spain... where
its parachute recovery system saved the life of the pilot and two
passengers.
According to BRS, the pilot of a Cirrus SR22, making an approach
to the San Sebastian airport in northern Spain between Bilbao and
the French border, encountered severe turbulence on final approach
resulting in a sudden and unexpected loss of control. Upon his
plane becoming inverted and realizing both the proximity of terrain
and inability to regain control in time, the pilot elected to
deploy his BRS parachute.
Functioning as designed, the parachute safely recovered the
plane and occupants as they touched ground seconds later. All
occupants walked away without a scratch. The plane sustained damage
to its left wing, cockpit and left door.
"As always, when we hear of such unfortunate occurrences, we are
most proud of our part in saving these aviators and their
passengers," said BRS CEO and President, Larry Williams. "Our team
realizes every day the enormity of their responsibilities whether
sewing, inspecting, assembling, or packaging our life-saving
products and that their efforts are oftentimes the only difference
between life and death for a pilot and passengers in these
circumstances. It’s a humbling thought which we take great
pride in experiencing whenever we are notified of another
save."
Since 1981, BRS has delivered more than 29,000 parachute systems
to aircraft owners worldwide, including over 3,500 systems on
FAA-certificated aircraft such as the Cirrus Design SR20 and SR22
manufactured in Duluth, MN. BRS says this incident marks the 215th,
216th, and 217th documented lives saved by one of its
parachutes.
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