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.