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No doubt many of you have seen this video of the Cirrus crash in the Blue Mountains. It will be interesting to find out why the pilot pulled the chute handle. This as I understand it was a very new aeroplane - a company demonstrator. It would be pretty odd for it to have been a engine failure - we'll know in time.
This is pretty amazing technology being incorporated in a light aeroplane. It did save the lives of the pilot and pax, at the very least given the location, saved them all from severe injuries.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irWmWlqRBsU

I've just looked up BRS Aviation - over 30,000 installations and over 200 saves - not bad!

Here's another interesting deployment when a Rans 7 looses a wing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzh0gGj1zog

From what I can gather, Adam, the aircraft was well over tiger country, with no suitable landing area in gliding range. Having flown over the Blue Mountains once or twice in my younger days (god I feel so old!!) it's not a place I'd like to suffer an engine failure.

Cap'n Wannabe wrote:From what I can gather, Adam, the aircraft was well over tiger country, with no suitable landing area in gliding range. Having flown over the Blue Mountains once or twice in my younger days (god I feel so old!!) it's not a place I'd like to suffer an engine failure.

Agreed. I saw a Google map posted on PPRune of that area - options for a forced landing very few - perhaps the golf course. I'm guessing they were not all that high about ground level when deploying the chute, so gliding distance could have been limited. Pulling the chute handle or risk hitting trees/houses, etc - I'd have no hesitation pulling the chute and passing over ownership to the insurance company in this case!
It's interesting technology that does save lives. No doubt not easily retro-fitted in every case - still if they can be fitted into Ultralights and LSA's, it would be something I'd consider if I was building my own aeroplane.

Cap'n Wannabe wrote:From what I can gather, Adam, the aircraft was well over tiger country, with no suitable landing area in gliding range. Having flown over the Blue Mountains once or twice in my younger days (god I feel so old!!) it's not a place I'd like to suffer an engine failure.

Whilst training for my NVFR rating flying over the same area in a single engine Piper Warrior, I innocently asked my instructer "So what happens if we have an engine failure?" Instructor says to me "Well Sonny...We set best glide speed and turn the landing lights on. If we don't like what we see out the window, we'll turn the lights off."

TOAM wrote:

Cap'n Wannabe wrote:From what I can gather, Adam, the aircraft was well over tiger country, with no suitable landing area in gliding range. Having flown over the Blue Mountains once or twice in my younger days (god I feel so old!!) it's not a place I'd like to suffer an engine failure.

Whilst training for my NVFR rating flying over the same area in a single engine Piper Warrior, I innocently asked my instructer "So what happens if we have an engine failure?" Instructor says to me "Well Sonny...We set best glide speed and turn the landing lights on. If we don't like what we see out the window, we'll turn the lights off."

Some advice I was once given if suffering a engine failure over tiger country - try to aim between the tree trunks. That way, the wings absorb a lot of energy from the impact. Sounds good in theory huh! Ol' Pat Gould at RVAC also showed how to attempt a spiral decent into a clearing. Why does pulling a chute handle just sound so good!

Pat Gould !
Crikey. There's a name from the past.
I did my initial RPPL instrument flying with him...1978!

Salty wrote:Pat Gould !
Crikey. There's a name from the past.
I did my initial RPPL instrument flying with him...1978!

Remember his car?

TOAM wrote:

Cap'n Wannabe wrote:From what I can gather, Adam, the aircraft was well over tiger country, with no suitable landing area in gliding range. Having flown over the Blue Mountains once or twice in my younger days (god I feel so old!!) it's not a place I'd like to suffer an engine failure.

Whilst training for my NVFR rating flying over the same area in a single engine Piper Warrior, I innocently asked my instructer "So what happens if we have an engine failure?" Instructor says to me "Well Sonny...We set best glide speed and turn the landing lights on. If we don't like what we see out the window, we'll turn the lights off."

Pretty much the same advice I got on my NVFR Mind you, I did mine around Deniliquin....you could almost land with your eyes closed and be guaranteed not to hit anything..

No...I don't recall his car.
Was it so good or so bad?

Salty wrote:No...I don't recall his car.
Was it so good or so bad?

It was amazing - a huge Pontiac, late 60's fitted with some big block V-8. Pat had also fitted a turbo pulled out of some Cat diesel as well! When he fired it up, it sounded like rumbling thunder.
You started a little bit before me. I did my RPPL in 1984 with Pat doing the 3 hrs inst time then the RPPL test - he being RVAC's CFI at the time. No idea what became of him, but he is a legend!