System 'Routinely' Saving Lives In Wide Range of Aircraft

Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc. proudly announced Wednesday that another three lives had been saved with their on-board parachute systems. On Monday, February 6, the pilot of a Cirrus SR22 airplane made a successful parachute deployment landing near Wagner, South Dakota.

Just days before, on February 2, the pilot of a Challenger II ultralight aircraft also touched down safely in Wisconsin after launching his BRS parachute during a local flight.

The pilot and owner of the Cirrus, Scott Doom, said he was flying on an IFR flight plan and was only minutes into his 1:30 pm CST departure from the Wagner airport when he opted to deploy the airframe parachute.

Doom, who reported having approximately 800 hours of flight time, described that he became disoriented while trying to maneuver on the autopilot during the departure climb from the Wagner airport. Unsure if he was experiencing a malfunction, Doom said he tried to over-power the autopilot, and in the process lost control of the airplane.

"I consider myself a competent pilot, and never thought that something like this would happen to me," said Doom. "I have a friend in the aerospace business who told me about the ballistic recovery parachute technology installed in the Cirrus, and that's the main reason I chose the airplane. I'm now very glad that I bought a parachute-equipped airplane."

The entire elapsed time from lift-off to deployment landing was reported to be approximately 18 minutes. Meteorological reports indicate that the weather in the area had cloud icing conditions. The Cirrus SR22 airplane, manufactured in 2001, had one passenger on board in addition to the pilot, and no injuries were reported by the occupants after the successful deployment and touchdown.

"It has always been the most rewarding part of my association with BRS to see another life saved," said Boris Popov, BRS founder and Board member. "Now that we are approaching two hundred documented saves, with six in just a three week period, it can seem routine." Popov went on to say, "However, saving a life is anything but routine and every employee knows the importance of their job and how what they are doing is saving lives. It's extraordinary!"

Ballistic Recovery Systems is the manufacturer of the airframe parachute system deployment that occurred just last month in Alabama, saving three lives when the pilot lost control of his airplane. These events now bring the total saves by BRS up to an impressive 187.

In it's 25-year history, BRS 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.

BRS units to date have been documented in saving 187 lives, with 14 of them in Certified Aircraft.

FMI: www.brsparachutes.com/