Parachute Deployment Saves Pilot and Plane in Oklahoma When
Fuel Line Fails
The pilot of a Flightstar Ultralight
powered by a Rotax 447, by all reports, considered last Sunday an
ideal day for flying until his aircraft's motor began to sputter.
Instead of panicking at 800 feet, Ron Elrod, a 56-year-old Shawnee,
Oklahoma attorney, deployed his BRS parachute. Seconds later,
Elrod's plane landed safely in wooded terrain one mile south of
Tecumseh (OK). After a frantic 3-hour search and rescue, Elrod was
found by local law enforcement and walked away from the incident
without suffering any major injuries to himself or his plane. "It
is my opinion that had I not deployed the BRS unit, I would not
have survived this crash," stated Elrod. "The device saved my
life."
BRS (Ballistic Recovery Systems) is a South St. Paul (MN) based
company that designs, manufactures and distributes whole aircraft
emergency parachute systems for use on general aviation and
recreational aircraft. Mark Thomas, President & CEO of BRS, was
excited to hear of Elrod's safe landing in Oklahoma and stated
that, "Improving aviation safety is the prime objective of BRS and
saving lives is our most gratifying accomplishment."
Elrod, who's been flying for nearly a decade, said it appears
that his June 13th crash was caused by a fuel hose break, a 50-cent
part failure that Elrod considers a freak occurrence. "This isn't
going to discourage me from flying," Elrod said, adding that the
risk is no more than driving a car. Elrod knows a little something
about danger, he's a former highway patrol officer shot in the line
of duty with gun shot wounds that left him paralyzed in his right
leg.
Since the early 1980s, BRS has delivered over 18,000 parachute
systems to aircraft owners around the world including over 1,500
systems on certified aircraft like the Cirrus Design aircraft
manufactured in Duluth, Minnesota. Actual documented uses of these
systems are credited with saving the lives of 167 people. In April
of 2004, BRS learned of two deployments in Cirrus aircraft within
36 hours of each other. On Saturday, April 10th, a Ft. Lauderdale
pilot deployed his plane's BRS parachute system, landing in a
Cypress grove in North Lauderdale (FL). Also, on April 8th, flying
over the rugged mountains in British Columbia, a grandfather, his
grandson and two family friends encountered trouble but were able
to recover and land safely after deploying a BRS parachute.
BRS is awaiting Federal Aviation Administration certification on a
parachute system for the Cessna 182 model of aircraft, and
certification is anticipated within the next 60 days.