MSNBC is showing a ditched Cirrus in a neighborhood pond that has the chute deployed. It was out of Eaglecreek Airpark (KEYE). I pulled up N91MB still registered to Cirrus Design and departing @ 0930 EST… anybody know if this is it???
Can you post a link- I can’t find it on MSNBC or a search of news.google.com.
(or are you cheating and watching cable TV?)
PS, Welcome to FlightAware!
Found a reference @ The Indianapolis Star.
And a note to JHEM, at least somebody knew where his towel was
He said he jumped in and helped pull three people clinging to the plane out of the water. He was still at the scene an hour later, draped in a towel.
According to a report by WTHR, the plane was able to float for a while and there were no signs of a fuel contamination in the water.
Sounds like fuel starvation.
Headed for Hilton Head? No fuel in the water? Engine cut off?
Nah, he couldn’t have flown it dry, right?
flightaware.com/live/flight/N91MB
Company vice president Bill King called it the best-selling aircraft in the world for the past four years, and the safest airplane in its class in the world.
I keep hearing the “safe” word from Cirrus and yet I hear about way more Cirrus crashes than Piper, Cessna, and Beechcraft combined. Why would anybody need a CAPS (Cirrus Airframe Parachute System)? A pilot should know and avoid what the CAPS will save them from (i.e. stall/spins close to the ground). Basic piloting will solve the need for a CAPS. I don’t know why any pilot who hasn’t flown at least a couple hundred hours, would ever buy a Cirrus. BTW, I don’t really care for their avionics at all.
Yep, I cheated… sorry bout that. I couldn’t find a link on the MSNBC site either. Surely they didn’t starve it of fuel… but they did say there were four on board. Doesn’t leave much room for to much fuel.
“For years the V-tail Bo was the quintessential doctor killer, but in recent years Doctor’s are increasing buying Cirrus aircraft,” said Outta Fuel, spokesperson for Heaven Intake Society, an organization of St. Peter who regulates heaven’s doors.
“we see then coming in pretty routinely with sprained right arms from pulling that parachute. You’d think by the time they get to middle age they’d know how to swim” continued Angel Fuel.
Can’t imagine that the guy ran out of fuel, HE JUST took off for Hilton Head and I imagine he probably had gas in the tanks. The tanks are just really well sealed!!!
A new airplane. And simply put, something broke. If its gonna it’ll be in the first 100 hours. If an engine survives the 1st 100 hours then it’ll make it to TBO unless the pilot doesn’t take care of it.
According to Aero News here the crash was caused by a medical emergency that incapacitated the pilot and his son pulled the parachute.
CCX,
There are only 2 bad things about the chute, weight and attitude.
How does the chute change the overall plane? Could the weight have been better used? Did the balance change the flight characteristics? How would the design have changed? One problem with the Cirrus is that it isn’t available without the chute, so their safety record tells us nothing about chutes.
How does the chute change the attitude of the pilot? Does it ease the pilot into making bad decisions about risk?
I have to say both things are likely marginal (though its hard to tell at this point about designs). On the other hand, I have to disagree with your assessment. Mid air collisions, inflight break ups, medical emergencies, and other problems can result in a save with the chute.
Yes, the Diamond Star, Mooney and Skylane have a better safety record and no chute, but that only tells us they are safer than the Cirrus in total. Not that a chute is a bad thing.
Ya sure, CAPS can be a help sometimes. I wouldn’t buy a plane from them just because of it. I think the Skylanes, Skyhawks, and Cherokees are easier to fly. With that there is more time/energy for the pilot to use outside the cockpit.
Rumor has it that TVI Corp. (Stock symbol: TVIN), a maker of large decontamination tents, will be developing a CAPS system for the B747. Initial plan would be to remove the upper cabin seats to store one parachute and the rear 18 rows for the second chute. The same safety consultant firm is recommanding side impact airbags be installed in the cockpit to protect the flight crew in case of side-impact mid-air collisions.
Computer simulations showed it was more economical to get just two big chutes for each B747 than to put one into each passenger seat when the cockpit-controlled Passenger Seat Mass Ejection System would have been installed.
Safety reigns!!
(But in drought-stricten Texas, it’s “safety rains”.)